Strengthening regional connectivity

James Huang, general manager of Payoneer China

A1 The BRI has opened up a road of connectivity. It allows China and economies around the world to leverage their complementary advantages, integrate resources effectively, and achieve development. The research and development center of Payoneer is located in Israel, which is a country on the Belt and Road. In Israel, we have seen many BRI projects, and the country's advanced agricultural technology has also been introduced to China through the BRI.

A2 In the past six years since its implementation, the BRI has helped promote global infrastructure connectivity, facilitate free trade and investment, and safeguard the establishment of economic globalization and the multilateral trading regime. Taking cross-border e-commerce as an example, the BRI has promoted cooperation in building industrial parks and enhancing production capacity. Trade and communication with Africa and Southeast Asia have increased significantly; a number of free trade pilot zones and cross-border e-commerce experimental zones have been built, providing convenience for customs clearance and more favorable policies for the import and export of goods.

A3 In 2017, Payoneer was the exclusive partner and payment service provider of Chinese e-sellers for Joom, the Russian e-commerce platform, and helped hundreds of high-quality e-sellers from China get onto the platform. The products sold by these Chinese e-sellers were popular among Russian consumers. At that time, Chinese e-sellers were receiving more than 10,000 orders in a single day. Apart from the good quality and low price of Chinese goods, the great success of Chinese e-sellers in the Russian market was closely linked to the convenient customs clearance and favorable trade policies under the BRI.

A4 China's cross-border e-sellers are likely to encounter some difficulties in terms of infrastructure when entering some economies along the Belt and Road. Transportation and communication infrastructure in some countries still lag behind regions with dense populations, like those in Europe and Asia. Port cooperation mechanisms are not in place, the transit of goods is not sufficiently facilitated and logistics costs are relatively high, making the circulation of goods and services more difficult. In addition, Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers often encounter seasonal problems of working capital and overseas payment difficulties in new markets. The types and scope of financial products for Chinese businesses to go global are still limited for the time being.

A5 With the in-depth implementation of the BRI, Chinese e-sellers have chosen to expand their business in markets along the Belt and Road. But many e-sellers find it confusing when it comes to choosing a suitable platform, understanding local markets and policies of the platform, or getting onboard the platform. Having noticed the difficulties faced by e-sellers, Payoneer has provided a green channel to Chinese cross-border e-sellers in China since 2015.