Shopify, JD.com eases US merchants’ access to China

The partnership gives them channel to JD’s 550 million users.

Shopify has partnered with JD.com to give independent brands in the United States access to the latter’s 550 million active users in China.

The partnership will open an accelerated channel for merchants on Shopify to list products through its cross-border e-commerce marketplace, JD Worldwide.

This will speed up the process to 3-4 weeks from the typical 12-mont requirement for international brands before they can sell products to China.

“We believe that the partnership will unlock the huge potential of the Chinese market for brands outside of China,” Daniel Tan, President of JD Worldwide, said.

“At the same time, it will increase cross-border commerce by leveraging our global supply chain ability, simplifying what has traditionally been a very complicated process.”

Shopify will also be entitled to intelligent translation and smart price conversion services as well as JD.com’s global-reach supply chain network, leveraging JD.com’s China-US cargo flights, US warehouses and 1,300+ warehouses and 200,000+ delivery personnel in China.

The companies will also work to simplify access and compliance for Chinese brands and merchants looking to reach consumers in Western markets.

This forms part of a larger strategic partnership between Shopify and JD.com that aims to help solve cross-border commerce challenges across product sourcing, selling, and logistics for merchants in the US and China.