E-commerce by sea: Shanghai reaches 280m yuan in first year

Launched on July 19, 2024, Shanghai's maritime cross-border e-commerce channel has wrapped up its first year with significant results, registering a total export value of 280 million yuan ($39 million).

The initiative has emerged as a new growth engine for the city's foreign trade.

Over the past year, nearly 900,000 export parcels, equivalent to more than 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, have been exported via this channel.

What began with a single route to the US West Coast has now expanded to cover major markets such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Southeast Asia, and South America.

On July 16, the channel set a new single-day export record, with 148 TEUs processed and goods valued at nearly 58 million yuan.

The service began on July 19, 2024, with the first overseas shipment of "9610" goods, referring to China's customs supervision code for B2C cross-border e-commerce exports.

"Over the past year, Shanghai Customs has advanced innovation-driven practices to foster the high-quality development of new trade models," said Zhang Jun, an official with Shanghai Customs.

Streamlining through innovation

Shanghai Customs has introduced a series of innovations to optimize maritime cross-border e-commerce exports:

1. Dual-clearance model: The "master bill + house bill" system enables flexible processing of both bulk and smaller shipments, tailored to enterprise needs.

2. One-stop inspection: The "inspect-before-loading" approach allows all categories of goods to be cleared and loaded at the same site, simplifying procedures and enabling flexible cargo consolidation.

3. Inter-port connectivity: A new water-to-water transport route between Waigaoqiao and Yangshan ports has improved logistics efficiency across the city's major port areas. Blockchain is also being used to ensure smooth returns across customs zones.

On June 12, a shipment of B2B home goods worth 1.24 million yuan was exported from Waigaoqiao Port under the "LCL (Less-than-Container Load) + master bill" model.

With only 899 packages, the shipment fell short of filling a full container under traditional logistics standards. However, using the streamlined "declaration form + packing list" method and master bill supervision, the goods were cleared, consolidated, and shipped within just 24 hours. This cut processing time by 50 percent and lowered logistics costs by 30 percent.

Business confidence on the rise

Liu Hongfeng, the legal representative and controlling shareholder of Limeng International Logistics Co Ltd, highlighted the business impact:

"Last year, our company saw a 200 percent surge in export value through Shanghai Port. With sea freight costing 70 percent less than air, our confidence in expanding international markets has grown significantly."