Publié le · Congo (Republic of the)
China E-commerce in First Nine Months of 2026: What Foreign Founders Should Know
A practical briefing for foreign founders on China's e-commerce performance in January–September 2026, covering online retail, platform technology, cross-border trade and international cooperation, based on the Ministry of Commerce's published figures.
Why This Data Matters for Foreign Founders
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has published its overview of e-commerce development for January–September 2026. For foreign founders registering or operating a company in China, the figures offer a practical map of where demand is growing, which channels are expanding and how cross-border trade is performing. The ministry describes the period as one in which e-commerce continued to innovate, online retail supported consumption growth and international cooperation deepened, contributing to the resilience and vitality of the economy.
Technology and Industrial Upgrading
From scale to quality
Authorities implemented a "Five Excellence" initiative for quality e-commerce, intended to steer the sector from expansion by volume toward improvement by quality. For founders, this signals a policy environment that rewards product quality, service standards and brand building rather than pure volume growth.
Platform self-development in cloud, models and chips
E-commerce platforms accelerated in-house development in cloud services, large models and computing-power chips. According to the ministry, the performance of these large models, their monthly active users and token call volumes have risen to the front ranks globally, making the platforms an important force in China's artificial intelligence development. Founders building AI-enabled commerce, marketing or logistics tools should note that the platform layer itself is investing heavily in this stack.
Digital-intelligent applications across sectors
E-commerce is being applied digitally and intelligently across agriculture, industry and services. According to MOFCOM's big-data monitoring, online retail sales of agricultural products rose 12.6% in the period. Two industrial belts stood out: Tianjin carpets, with online retail sales up 26.3%, and Jiangxi porcelain, up 25.9%. National Bureau of Statistics data cited in the release show value added in information transmission, software and information technology services growing 10.4%. These clusters illustrate how regional manufacturing belts can scale through online channels — relevant for founders sourcing or partnering with local suppliers.
Consumption: Online Retail as a Growth Engine
Overall online retail
Per National Bureau of Statistics data, national online retail sales of goods and services grew 4.4% in January–September. MOFCOM estimates that this contributed 45.4% of the growth in total retail sales of consumer goods and services. In other words, online channels accounted for a substantial share of consumption growth, not a marginal one.
Online pulling offline
The online-to-offline pull is strengthening. According to the statistics bureau, goods sold online by units above the designated size accounted for 31.8% of their retail sales, up 3.9 percentage points year on year. For brands weighing whether to invest in physical retail in China, the data suggests online and offline channels are increasingly intertwined rather than separate.
Services retail grows faster
Online services retail grew quickly. MOFCOM big-data monitoring shows online travel up 25.7%, online life services up 13.9% and online catering up 12.2%. Founders in travel, local services or food delivery should note these are among the fastest-growing online segments reported.
International Cooperation and Cross-Border Trade
The Global Digital Trade Expo
The fifth Global Digital Trade Expo drew 2,008 exhibitors and more than 50,000 professional buyers from 163 countries and regions. A "Silk Road E-commerce Day" series ran alongside it, with over 600 representatives from government, industry, academia and research from more than 30 countries and international organizations exchanging views on policy, industry and capacity building. Such events are practical venues for foreign founders to meet partners and understand policy direction.
Training and capacity building
E-commerce training programs for developing countries and ASEAN trained participants from 18 countries offline, while an Africa session of the online lecture series attracted participants from 22 African countries. This reflects continued official emphasis on cross-border e-commerce capacity building.
Cross-border e-commerce growth
Cross-border e-commerce maintained relatively fast growth. Preliminary estimates from the General Administration of Customs cited by MOFCOM show China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports rising 4.4% in January–September. For foreign founders using cross-border models to test the China market before full local registration, this indicates the channel remains active, though at a moderate pace.
Practical Takeaways for Founders
- Quality over volume: Policy direction favors quality e-commerce; build standards and brand assets early.
- Services are growing faster than goods: Online travel, life services and catering outpaced overall online retail growth in the reported data.
- Industrial belts matter: Regional clusters such as Tianjin carpets and Jiangxi porcelain show strong online growth — useful for sourcing and partnership mapping.
- Online and offline are converging: A rising share of large retailers' sales occurs online, so channel strategy should not treat them separately.
- Cross-border remains viable: With 4.4% growth in cross-border imports and exports, the model can serve as a market-entry step.
Next Steps
Founders evaluating China should treat these figures as a starting point for their own due diligence on sector, location and channel. Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.
This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.