East China's Jiangsu Province has developed more than 30 specialized cross-border e-commerce industrial clusters, spanning sectors such as mechanical and electrical products, textiles and apparel, hardware tools, building materials and home furnishings, and outdoor equipment.

The province's strengths in cross-border e-commerce stem from its robust industrial clusters, favorable business environment, and merchants adept at using social media to promote their products.

From January to July this year, textile and apparel exports from Changshu, a county-level city administered by Suzhou, reached 12.91 billion yuan (about $1.81 billion), with cross-border e-commerce exports surging 163.7 percent year on year, according to data from Changshu Customs. Cross-border e-commerce now accounts for an ever-larger share of Changshu's textile and apparel exports, serving as a key driver of local foreign trade growth.

Jiangsu Xinghao Yueyuan Home Textile Co., Ltd. illustrates this transformation. With years of experience in textile manufacturing, the company has gained international recognition for its prayer rugs and rabbit fur series incorporating traditional craftsmanship. Its sofa cover line has become a flagship product, featuring multiple categories and thousands of color patterns.

The company's success in global markets is rooted in a multi-pronged cross-border e-commerce strategy: Alibaba.com, a Chinese cross-border e-commerce giant, connects it with overseas enterprise orders, while Southeast Asian platforms such as Shopee and Lazada provide direct access to end consumers.

According to Gao Yan, the company's executive, cross-border e-commerce channels generated nearly 20 million yuan in export revenue for the company from January to July this year, nearly five times last year's full-year performance.

Similarly, an import and export company in Changshu has expanded its reach in Europe and North America by selling linen and cotton bedding products through multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms. Since the beginning of this year, its cross-border e-commerce exports have exceeded 40 million yuan, boosting overall export growth by six percentage points, said Zhang Jingya, the company's head.

Jiangsu's cross-border e-commerce innovation is most evident in two areas: the model of "industrial clusters + cross-border e-commerce" and the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Across the province, more small and micro enterprises are entering international trade through cross-border e-commerce platforms. As one industry observer noted, the distance from workshops to livestream rooms is just one viral video away. A post-1985 entrepreneur, for example, achieved rapid success by posting short videos of Suzhou embroidery pillow production, breaking into the top five of North America's home decor category within six months.

In the early hours of Aug. 20, a cargo plane carrying 66,000 cross-border e-commerce parcels departed from Wuxi Shuofang Airport in Wuxi city. Its cargo hold was packed with clothing, toys, accessories, luggage, and small furniture bound for Mexico, where local logistics networks would quickly distribute the goods across Latin America.

According to Wuxi Customs, as of Aug. 18, 2025, the airport had processed nearly 11 million cross-border e-commerce export manifests, double the figure from the same period last year. This marked the airport's second time surpassing the 10-million threshold, following its first breakthrough in December 2024—achieved nearly five months earlier than last year.

The airport's favorable business environment continues to attract leading cross-border e-commerce companies such as SHEIN, PDD, and Cainiao, all of which are expanding their operations there.

"We actively support the airport in optimizing passenger aircraft's belly space capacity and establishing air-to-air transit channels, enabling 'small packages' to reach global markets more efficiently," said Wang Weihua, an official with Wuxi Customs.

In June, Suzhou officially launched a one-stop cross-border e-commerce service center, creating a new bridge connecting Suzhou-made products with global buyers.

In Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, enterprises using the city's cross-border e-commerce public service platform achieved total import and export volumes of 7 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a 47.6 percent year-on-year increase. The platform now serves more than 750 registered enterprises, with new registrations up 72 percent over last year. Registration time for enterprises has also been cut from 20 working days to an average of about 5.

As of July 2025, all 13 Jiangsu cities with subordinate districts had been approved as comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce. Looking ahead, AI technology is expected to see wider application in product selection, marketing, supply chain management, and compliance, driving high-quality development of the province's cross-border e-commerce sector.

(Source: People's Daily)