China is no longer just the world’s factory; now, it’s also the world’s mall. As online shopping slows within China, a new generation of e-commerce companies has emerged, with their sights set on foreign customers. Their rise has been meteoric: In the past few years, Shein has cornered the fast-fashion market and is now expanding to sell almost anything; Temu only launched at the end of 2022 and now has 130 million global users; and TikTok is converting its vast user base into online shoppers with TikTok Shop.
The rise of these Chinese shopping platforms has reshaped online shopping for buyers and sellers. Their ultra-low prices have enticed customers and beaten back the competition but also invited scrutiny. Governments are starting to question the impact on local business and the integrity of supply chains — in some cases changing import rules or even banning platforms outright.
For now, though, the boom continues. The Chinese e-commerce sector is on a mission to shake its reputation as just the manufacturer of cheap “made in China” goods, and show that it can build whole brands and business models that dominate the global stage. For this series, Rest of World spoke with Chinese factory owners, visited an automated package sorting center in Pakistan, went behind the scenes with an Indonesian shopping influencer, took a trip to a market full of Nigerian counterfeit merchants, and went on a Temu shopping spree to explore how this new era of e-commerce is changing the way we shop.
