E-commerce: A promising link between China and Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma show lobsters from Canada at the headquarters of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Sept 3, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new bridge linking business and trade between China and Canada, unleashing huge opportunities for not only enterprises but also government bodies in both countries.

The latest case in point was the strategic partnership between Jumore, a Chinese e-commerce platform for bulk commodities, and Canadian firm WPIC, signed at the annual meeting of the Canada China Business Council in early September. Jumore also wants to join Canada's largest railway network owner for potential cooperation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attributes the huge potential to the rapid growth of the Chinese middle class. "That means a bigger market for quality Canadian food, like beef and pork, but also for lobster and cherries," he told the Canada China Business Council as part of his official visit to China in early September.

Meanwhile, Canada, joining 18 other countries, has launched its pavilion in Alibaba's Tmall Global platform, witnessed by the visiting Canadian prime minister and Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma ahead of the G20 leaders' summit in Hangzhou. This will provide Chinese consumers with earlier access to Canadian brands, including yoga apparel-maker Lululemon and Clearwater Seafoods.

Apart from the launch, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service in China (TCS) also formed a strategic partnership with Alibaba, aiming to better facilitate the flow of goods and services between Canada and China, especially by way of e-commerce.

China is now Canada's second largest trading partner and also its second largest export market. New statistics from AliResearch ranked Canada in 7th place among the G20 member states in terms of its e-commerce connectivity with China.

"The development of Canadian e-commerce industry still lags behind their US and European counterparts, but it is catching with the global trend," said Zhang Zhouping, senior analyst with the China E-commerce Research Center. "As such, Canada is in urge need of collaboration with foreign e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, so as to provide more online support for its traditional enterprises at home."

Sales of China's cross-border e-commerce have been estimated to hit more than $85 billion by the end of 2016, up from more than $57 billion last year, according to data from digital marketing researcher eMarketer.

Alizila contributed to the story.