Favorable Policies Continuously Blow, and Overseas Warehouses Become a "New Engine" for the Development of Cross-border E-commerce
The 2025 Government Work Report pointed out that efforts should be made to promote the development of cross-border e-commerce, improve the cross-border delivery and logistics system, and strengthen the construction of overseas warehouses.
It is an industry consensus that overseas warehousing is the core of logistics services. Facing multiple challenges in the international market, strengthening the construction of overseas warehouses will provide strong resilience for the development of Chinese cross-border e-commerce export enterprises.
Boosting Chinese Brands' Expansion Overseas
The so-called overseas warehouse, although literally meaning warehousing facilities established overseas, generally refers to the practice where domestic cross-border e-commerce enterprises transport goods to the target market countries in large quantities, store the goods in local warehouses, and then directly sort and deliver the goods from local warehouses according to local sales orders.
At Cainiao's overseas warehouse in Bremen, Germany, local employees often see an air purifier named "smartmi." Over the past three or four years, this Chinese brand, which emerged from Xiaomi's ecological chain, has been at the forefront of the European air purifier sales market and has become a veritable best-selling product overseas.
However, with the surge in sales, e-commerce platforms and consumers have increasingly higher requirements for the timeliness and stability of logistics. Therefore, smartmi Technology turned to Cainiao for better supply chain solutions. "Most of smartmi Technology's products are sold seasonally. Once the sales season is missed, they have to wait until the next year. If there is slow sales leading to high inventory, then the customer's warehouse rental costs will soar," said the sales head of Cainiao's overseas warehouses. "We have formulated a full-link supply chain solution. smartmi Technology can focus on selling products, and we will provide global fulfillment services for them."
From the first leg of transportation, mainline logistics to overseas warehouse distribution, Cainiao has achieved full-link connection. From replenishment plans, warehouse distribution layout to customized reports, Cainiao has tailored a full-link digital and intelligent overseas warehouse solution for smartmi Technology. In addition, based on Cainiao's self-developed digital and intelligent GIWS system, full-link data visualization can be achieved, directly eliminating the troubles of "logistics blind boxes" abroad.
"Previously, we had to deal with many logistics service providers simultaneously. Now, we only need to contact one person. The real-time synchronization of inventory and front-end data also helps us keep up with sales opportunities," introduced the logistics head of smartmi Technology. After using Cainiao's full-link overseas warehouse solution, smartmi Technology's last-mile delivery costs in Europe have decreased by 20%, and the average delivery time has been shortened by 2 - 3 days. Now, in some cities, the fastest delivery can be achieved the next day.
With cross-border sellers and the B2C model accelerating their expansion overseas, there is a need for more flexible and comprehensive service providers that can offer end-to-end full supply chain solutions and integrated logistics. Cainiao is the world's largest cross-border e-commerce logistics service enterprise, ranking first globally in both import and export logistics; Cainiao also has the world's largest cross-border e-commerce warehouse network. Cainiao's global supply chain has operated over 40 overseas warehouses in 18 countries and regions across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, etc., providing omnichannel, end-to-end supply chain management solutions and warehouse distribution operation services for a large number of domestic and international brands and merchants, helping brands in multiple industries such as auto parts, home furnishings, home appliances, and furniture accelerate their expansion overseas.
Building Foreign Trade Infrastructure
As a new engine for foreign trade growth, China's cross-border e-commerce has witnessed remarkable development in recent years. In 2024, China's export scale exceeded 25 trillion yuan for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%; the total import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce reached 2.6 trillion yuan, with a growth rate of 10.8%.
As a new type of foreign trade infrastructure nowadays, the overseas warehouse network not only helps merchants maintain price competitiveness but also enhances their supply chain resilience through intelligent technology and builds a "moat" for brands. Currently, there are mainly three types of overseas warehouses. The first is overseas warehouses self-built by cross-border sellers; the second is overseas warehouses built by cross-border e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon FBA; the third is overseas warehouses established by third-party enterprises (usually logistics service providers).
It is worth noting that the capabilities of traditional overseas logistics providers that originated from commercial parcels do not fully match the needs of e-commerce in terms of their underlying operation models. Relying on a deep understanding of the Chinese e-commerce ecosystem and the processing capabilities honed from it, Cainiao has great room for global development.
It is understood that Cainiao continues to promote the construction of a global smart logistics infrastructure network. It has self-built core logistics hubs in Liège, Belgium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, etc.; it has built 18 distribution centers and more than 40 overseas warehouses in regions such as Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia, with 150 cross-border routes operating regularly. Its digital infrastructure capabilities support the processing of tens of millions of cross-border parcels per day. It has provided "5-day global delivery" cross-border logistics services in 14 countries and regions, gradually approaching the timeliness of domestic e-commerce logistics.
In terms of the "last mile," Cainiao has launched local express self-operated services in countries and regions such as Spain, the United States, and Mexico, gradually building local distribution networks. For example, Cainiao's express network in the United States covers 90% of the population in California and Florida, providing two-day local delivery services. Cainiao's services in Mexico have also become one of the few local express service providers that offer the fastest 2.5-day delivery.
As a new type of foreign trade infrastructure nowadays, overseas warehouses effectively boost the development of cross-border e-commerce by reducing intermediate links and reaching consumers directly. In recent years, the state has also continuously provided strong support at the policy level.
In November 2024, the General Administration of Customs issued the "Announcement on Further Promoting the Development of Cross-border E-commerce Exports," canceling the filing requirements for cross-border e-commerce export overseas warehouse enterprises and simplifying the declaration procedures for cross-border e-commerce export documents, creating a convenient and efficient customs clearance environment for cross-border e-commerce export enterprises. On January 27 this year, the State Taxation Administration issued Announcement No. 3 of 2025, "Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Matters Concerning Supporting the Development of Cross-border E-commerce Exports via Overseas Warehouses and Export Tax Rebates (Exemptions)," deciding to implement the export tax rebate policy of "tax rebate upon departure and verification upon sale" for goods exported through cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses, abbreviated as "pre-export tax rebate." This policy for the first time breaks the traditional trade rule of "tax rebate upon actual sales" and promotes the development of China's export tax rebate system in a new business format, which is of reformative significance.
It can be expected that with the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses are becoming a crucial force in helping Chinese enterprises expand overseas.
