Views and hopes from top executives

Alan Tien

General manager of PayPal China

A1 PayPal will remain committed to China, one of our most important and fastest-growing markets worldwide. Despite the current economic slowdown, PayPal still sees huge potential and opportunities in China.

Within our own PayPal Chinese SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) Export Survey Report, we found that although up to 79 percent of export-related Chinese SMEs believe the global economy will slow down or stay the same, seven out of 10 export-focused Chinese SMEs still expect to grow their sales in the next three months.

In fact, according to the report, e-commerce exports via PayPal's global payment platform from Greater China to overseas markets saw big double-digit growth, from 23 percent to 96 percent, from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. By contrast, China's overseas shipments only increased by 7.8 percent in the first seven months of 2012, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

PayPal believes cross-border e-commerce will be a successful formula for China's SME exporters, especially when its overall export growth has experienced a decline over the past quarters.

A2 With traditional foreign trading models reaping increasingly lower profits for merchants, cross-border e-commerce is being seen as having great potential for growth, and has opened numerous new opportunities for local merchants to extend their reach beyond the China market.

Being a global e-commerce and payment leader, PayPal is helping Chinese merchants, most of which are SMEs, sell to 117 million active PayPal users in 190 markets worldwide conveniently and safely and grow their online business around the globe.

Since entering the China market in 2005, PayPal has grown in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou and opened its first regional operations center, based in Shanghai.

PayPal will remain committed to growing our business and expanding our investment in China.

A3 In China, we are focusing on cross-border e-commerce. There are millions of export-oriented SMEs in China and cross-border e-commerce can provide them with a profitable channel to sell to overseas markets. We are deeply committed to enabling them to sustainably grow their online export business in a faster and safer way, sharing with them our 14 years of experience in enabling secure payments between millions of sellers and buyers on a healthy global e-commerce platform.

Looking forward, we are dedicated to bringing more global online payment best practice to China and exploring new business opportunities here.

In recent years, the growth of the global e-commerce market has made cross-border e-commerce a rising force in China's foreign trade sector, offering millions of enterprises with a brand-new business model to expand beyond the domestic market, compete globally and experience a leap in profitability.

PayPal believes cross-border e-commerce will be a silver bullet for China's exporters.

A4 We are pleased to see the government has indicated its commitment to improving the overall business and investment environment.

We always believe that a transparent and open market, where participants are judged by merit and capability, not other restrictive measurement, will greatly enable all participants to maximize their potential and ultimately contribute to China's sustainable economic growth.

A5 We would like to see the government continue its policy of opening up the market, with clear measurement in creating a favorable investment environment, and encouraging foreign participation in the areas of e-commerce and e-payment. We believe the role of government should be more than regulating the market, but facilitating and promoting foreign investment in the marketplace, too.