Online market leaders tell Australian businesses how to capitalize on China's e-commerce

Australian premium goods imports into China are expected to fetch a 40-percent year-on-year increase, business leaders said on Wednesday.

China's e-commerce market leaders are holding a series of forums in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast - in association with Australia's trade department "Austrade" - for Australian small- and medium-sized businesses to effectively enter China's marketplace following the signing of the China-Australia FTA.

The forum heard the easiest way for Australian businesses to capitalize on greater access to China's consumer market was through the established e-commerce platforms.

The convergence of e-commerce and social media has enabled Chinese consumers to spend almost 500 billion Australian dollars ( 385.8 billion U.S. dollars) online, something Australian Minister for Trade Andrew Robb said Australian business cannot ignore.

Alibaba Group Vice-General Manager Maggie Zhou said the power of the Chinese consumer is seeing online purchases grow significantly.

"Last decade was the golden era for e-commerce, now [we're] entering the diamond era," she said.

Zhou said China's middle class is expected to rise to 500 million in the next decade, which is likely to increase demand of quality, value for money goods.

The Australian business community was privy to a variety of trading models via e-commerce platforms. However JD Worldwide Director Tony Qiu told the forum that Australian business people accessing China have a policy advantage with cross-border e- commerce model if they don't already have a subsidiary in China.

"Consumers will actually be able to buy your product cheaper," he said citing there would be no tax on goods traded through this model.

Qiu also said regulatory certifications are relaxed via the cross-border e-commerce model, rather then traditional subsidiary trade.

He told Xinhua he believed the demand for Australian goods in China would grow over the next decade.

"The growth from now in general I would expect 30-40 percent in terms of consumer goods, but (our platform) expects 100 percent increase for consumer goods every single year," Qui said.

Australian Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson attributed it to China's rising consumer incomes and demand for convenient access to high-quality, trustworthy goods.

"Our small businesses have great products but they need a digital strategy if they are going to realize the full potential China's online market offers, including the millions of consumers in smaller cities and regions away from the coast," Billson said.

"It's not just about a Chinese language website, businesses need to embrace the entire online supply chain." Endi