In just three years, a Chinese firm has seen its annual sales on a cross-border e-commerce platform surge from over 4 million U.S. dollars to more than 60 million U.S. dollars, while expanding its overseas market presence from North America to Europe and Japan.

"We no longer have to travel overseas to attend exhibitions or rely entirely on foreign-trade intermediaries. With just one online store, we can reach consumers around the world and secure overseas orders directly," said Zhao Jing, general manager of Partners (Qingdao) Home Decoration Co., Ltd.

"We also have greater control over sales channels and pricing, while platform data can help guide product development and enable us to expand rapidly into global markets," Zhao said, explaining why traditional export-oriented manufacturers are turning to cross-border e-commerce.

Cross-border e-commerce has flourished in recent years, becoming an important force helping Chinese manufacturers expand overseas.

An English-language livestream is underway on Shandong Hightop Group's page on a cross-border e-commerce platform. On screen, a one-tonne mini excavator extends its arm and digs into the earth, attracting numerous overseas viewers.

"Many households in Europe and the United States use mini excavators to dig in their gardens or build swimming pools," said Bu Panpan, the company's chief operating officer. "Seeing strong potential in this market, we established a presence on multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms."

Bu said the company started with a lean trading model, then built its own factory for contract manufacturing before developing its own brand, gradually gaining a firm foothold in overseas markets. Since the beginning of this year, the value of its exports through cross-border e-commerce has exceeded 500 million yuan (about 73.7 million U.S. dollars), up 70 percent year on year.

The city of Jining, in east China's Shandong Province, where Hightop Group is based, is one of China's major manufacturing bases for small construction machinery. Mini excavators made there now account for more than half of the e-commerce market in Europe and the United States.

A new wave of overseas expansion powered by cross-border e-commerce and industrial clusters is gathering pace across China's traditional manufacturing hubs.

"Behind every industrial cluster lie decades of accumulated craftsmanship, supply-chain capabilities and technological expertise," said Song Xiaojun, vice president of Amazon China.

In 2025, industrial clusters for wigs made in Jiaozhou City, mini excavators in Jining and carpets in Tianjin Municipality all recorded strong sales growth, Song said.

Cross-border e-commerce is emerging as a new driver of high-quality development in foreign trade. The total value of China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.84 trillion yuan in 2025, up 4.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Under the traditional foreign-trade model, manufacturing companies generally need to deal with only a limited number of buyers, while cross-border e-commerce sellers must respond directly to vast and fragmented demand from overseas end users.

Moreover, cross-border transportation, advertising, sales operations, after-sales service and payment collection are closely interconnected, making cross-border e-commerce a daunting challenge for any company seeking to enter the sector.

Policy support is key to helping more companies overcome initial difficulties, gain a firm foothold overseas and ultimately build a stable and lasting presence in global markets.

The outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) calls for supporting cross-border e-commerce and other new business forms and models.

In April, the Ministry of Commerce and five other government departments released guidelines calling for the development of models combining market procurement trade with cross-border e-commerce, and China-Europe freight trains with cross-border e-commerce. The guidelines also encourage e-commerce companies to register trademarks, apply for patents, and develop their own brands overseas.

E-commerce platforms are also stepping up their efforts.

Amazon has launched a joint support program for industrial clusters in north China, aiming to foster 500 brand sellers targeting overseas markets over the next two years. Alibaba.com has rolled out AI agents that could work as a 24/7 business team.

Industry associations, meanwhile, are working to promote deeper integration among policies, trade networks and industrial clusters.

"Small and micro enterprises seeking to expand overseas still face challenges such as a shortage of professionals with cross-border e-commerce expertise and insufficient brand awareness," said Lyu Yaping, secretary-general of the Shandong Cross-Border E-Commerce Association.

The association said it will continue to provide training for sellers, helping companies build their cross-border e-commerce operations from the ground up and expand them at scale, while promoting the effective implementation of policies designed to support businesses.