Alibaba's shopping platform Tmall Global has attracted over 19,000 international brands from 75 countries and regions since launching in 2014, the company announced on Wednesday, as it seeks to cash in on the lucrative Chinese market.
Out of all those brands, a whopping 90 percent entered the Chinese market for the first time by partnering with Tmall, said the cross-border e-commerce platform, which brings imported products to Chinese consumers.
Beauty products were the best selling category in 2017, accounting for 30 percent of the firm's total imports, followed by maternal and childcare products, 20 percent, and healthcare products, 18 percent, the platform said.
Lou Junfeng, an official with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that expanding import volumes has become one of China's national strategies.
China's purchasing power is still strong, since the country contributed to around 17 percent of total global import growth in 2017 -- a major factor behind the entry of international brands into China through e-commerce platforms, Lou said.
