Rewards of e-commerce flow across border bridge

China and Vietnam utilize advanced parcel delivery sector to boost trade, push further into region. Luo Wangshu reports.

Dongxing, a county-level border city in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is located on the banks of the Beilun River. On the other side of the river in Vietnam lies Mong Cai, with the two cities linked by a bridge.

As a border city, Dongxing not only serves as a link between China and Vietnam, but also to other parts of Southeast Asia.

A crucial component of Dongxing's economy is the booming parcel delivery sector, which provides a boost for the development of e-commerce and foreign trade in the area.

Every day at 8 am, Dongxing "wakes" when the border bridge opens. Crowds of people from both sides of the bridge travel back and forth carrying large bags loaded with specialty products and are eager to do business.

Vietnamese products favored by consumers in China include slippers, coffee, ao dai — a traditional Vietnamese dress — bamboo products, conical hats and herbal ointments.

Some products are sold to tourists, but the majority are purchased by medium and small-sized trading companies, and then sent to customers across China via the expanding parcel delivery network.

On the other side, products made in China, such as clothes and small electronic appliances, are popular with Vietnamese consumers. Small commodities are sent to Dongxing from all over China via the parcel delivery network, and then moved across the bridge before ending up in the hands of Vietnamese customers.

On the main streets of Dongxing, especially the area close to the border gate and bridge, are many parcel delivery companies that operate delivery services in China as well as international logistics operations across the border.

During the day, hordes of couriers can be seen riding electric bikes throughout the city.

On Nov 7 last year, at a Dongxing distribution center of YTO Express, one of China's major parcel delivery companies, workers were busy sorting parcels ahead of the "Double 11" online shopping festival. A large number of parcels destined for Vietnam were placed in big bags in a corner of the center to be handled collectively.

It takes about three days for a parcel to reach Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, from Dongxing, said Liang Yinghua, head of YTO Express in Dongxing and also vice head of the Parcel Delivery Association in Fangchenggang.

Thanks to China's well-devolved parcel delivery network, it is easy to transport parcels from around the country to Dongxing in a short period of time. For example, it takes about three days for a parcel from the small-commodities manufacturing hub of Yiwu in eastern China's Zhejiang province to reach Dongxing. This adds up to six days for a parcel to be transported from Yiwu to Hanoi, Liang said.

Profitable partners

A great number of parcels sent to Dongxing from across China are destined for Vietnamese recipients, Liang said. To take advantage of this business opportunity, many Vietnamese e-commerce businesses with Chinese partners have set up offices in Dongxing to receive the China-made products, he explained.

Vietnamese customers order the products from local e-commerce platforms such as TikTok and Shopee. The products are then sent to the e-commerce stores in Dongxing via the parcel delivery network, and are subsequently transported to Vietnam through the cross-border logistics system, Liang said.

"Most parcels arriving at Dongxing from other parts of China are mainly destined for Vietnamese customers," he said.

"Apart from the products acquired by local residents in Dongxing to meet their daily needs, a variety of light-industry products, such as clothing, shoes, leather bags, and small household appliances, are sent to Vietnam.

"These goods can be further transported across the border through logistics companies, courier services, or taken back by border residents," he said, adding that many parcel delivery companies in Dongxing are not qualified to do cross-border delivery.

Likewise, Vietnamese products are sent to Dongxing and distributed to customers around China. "About 80 percent of parcels leaving Dongxing for other parts of China are Southeast Asian specialties, while the remaining 20 percent are agricultural products from Dongxing," Liang said.

The parcel delivery industry in Dongxing has increased twelve-fold over the past decade, said Xu Weizhong, deputy head of the Fangchenggang Post Bureau, which oversees the industry in the city.

"Dongxing is a city that focuses on foreign trade, taking advantage of its geographical location. It mainly deals with imports and exports with Southeast Asia. Dongxing is like a gateway to facilitate trade (between China and Vietnam)," Xu said, adding that the parcel delivery network is a bridge to link foreign trade with the e-commerce system.

The parcel delivery sector has seen rapid growth over the past decade, according to the Post Bureau which regulates the industry. In 2012, the city handled 385,900 parcels, of which 77,100 were from e-commerce business. In 2019, the number was 7.85 million parcels, with 6.45 million from e-commerce.

From 2020 the number dropped due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In 2022, the city handled 5.35 million parcels and 4.73 million were e-commerce packages.

From January to September last year, Dongxing handled 5.84 million parcels, with 5.13 million of them e-commerce parcels.

Deep integration

The area's parcel delivery business is now deeply integrated with the e-commerce industry.

Xu Xiaobo, head of Yunda Express in Dongxing, began selling Vietnamese products to Chinese customers via an e-commerce platform in 2008. His goods include Vietnamese coffee, dried fruit and rattan products.

"It was not convenient to send products to China back then, so I thought why not start a parcel delivery business in Dongxing," he said. Xu, who began his parcel delivery business in 2009, said, "the cost (of sending e-commerce parcels) is lower and the efficiency has been increased".

While his main business is now parcel deliveries, he has continued doing e-commerce.

An e-commerce center was established in 2022 to boost the industry and foreign trade.

According to He Shiwu, deputy head of the Dongxing E-commerce Association, the center aims to gather together medium and large e-commerce and product-supply enterprises that operate in the city. The items they handle include wood products, wickerwork, and imported food items such as nuts and fruit.

There are now more than 20 companies at the center that sell over 200 types of goods, including food items, mahogany crafts and rattan products. The center dispatches about 500,000 parcels every month and has monthly sales revenue of about 9 million yuan ($1.26 million), Xu said.

During the "Double 11" festival in 2022, the volume of parcel deliveries generated by e-commerce stores located in the center was 10 to 15 percent higher than off-peak periods. "The e-commerce center and parcel delivery companies have a strategic partnership where we mutually benefit and support each other," he said.

Parcel delivery companies have also stepped up cooperation with the e-commerce center to ensure smooth operations.

"To cater for the increase in the number of orders during 'Double 11', e-commerce companies were able to contact express delivery companies to increase the frequency of shipments," he said.

Before the festival's peak, express delivery companies prepared enough warehouse space for goods and ensured they had enough packing material, Xu said. Arrangements for vehicle availability and personnel were also made more flexible to ensure efficient delivery services during the busy period.

Xiaotujie Trading, one of the e-commerce stores located at the center, mainly works with ZTO Express and YTO Express to send products imported from Vietnam across China.

During last year's "Double 11", the company increased its stock by 50 percent based on the sales performance in 2022, said Peng Weidong, head of the company.

"We stocked our products and completed packaging at a warehouse in the center in advance," he said, adding that once the customer places an order, a well-packaged product will be quickly sent out.

At dusk, the city begins to slow down. There is no more hustle and bustle on the border bridge and stores begin to close. Couriers' electronic bikes, with parcel delivery companies' names painted on them, are parked along the street.

But the next morning when the sun rises, the border bridge opens again at 8 am, and the city springs back to life.