The new silk road: China’s post-COVID return to global markets and how technology has enabled it

As the first post-pandemic year, 2023 has so far seen global players rising to new challenges and grappling for new opportunities. All eyes have been on China, the country that had to endure the strictest measures and longest lockdowns, and how well its economy would recover. 

Since China dismantled its zero-COVID policy, the country’s economy rebounded in the first quarter of 2023 by a faster-than-expected 4.5%, according to Reuters. 

However, the recovery has faced its obstacles. Back-logged consumer demand has boosted the service sector, but manufacturing has lagged behind. Property and tech have been bruised by regulatory crack-downs, indebted local governments have little spare cash to spend, and youth unemployment is well above the national average.

Traditionally, Chinese economic recoveries have been associated with a rebound in construction and housing, but this is not necessarily the case this time around. A new silk road has opened up, fuelling global exports particularly in the luxury and retail sectors. Reasons for this road’s opening include savings built up during the pandemic, particularly by the wealthy, and a pent-up demand for travel.

Many potential beneficiaries of this new silk road are European-listed companies, where nearly 2% of eurozone GDP is exposed to China, compared with just over 0.5% for the U.S., according to statistics by Barclays.

Europe’s STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) is up around 10% year-to-date, outperforming most other major indices. A milder winter that helped cut energy costs also helped drive it towards 14-month highs.

China’s onshore blue-chip index (.CSI300) is up 5% this year. But a “Shadow China” basket, calculated by Jefferies, which includes European companies that derive more than 10% of their revenues from China, has risen 33% since the start of November – roughly when China began reopening – outperforming MSCI’s index of developed European markets by 5.3%.

This new silk road is a two-way street, enabling many Chinese brands and businesses to set their sights on overseas markets, expanding their reach, boosting revenues and becoming global players. 

China’s tech-enabled road to recovery – and global success

Thanks to the high quality and wide range of goods offered, Chinese companies are making deeper inroads into key European, US and LATAM markets, as well as MENA and APAC secondary markets. Just a few days ago, online wholesale marketplace Alibaba.com said cross-border demand for Made in China exports over its platform had leapt by 33%. 

Performance-based partner marketing has played a major role in the expansion of Chinese brands. Admitad partner network is leading the charge while leveraging over a decade of positive experience of collaboration with Chinese companies. According to network estimates, their overseas sales will continue to grow in 2023.

With brands paying only when positive results are achieved – results such as sales, installs and customer registrations – performance marketing enables businesses to avoid financial risk when entering new markets. It gains them transparent budget planning and a manageable order flow.

Admitad brings together 100,000+ publishers and 3000+ brands. This network has become a proven partner for Chinese companies seeking to successfully enter, expand their presence and drive growth within foreign markets. Current Admitad clients include Alibaba (and AliExpress), Banggood, DHgate, Taobao, SHEIN, Joom and many others. 

It gives Chinese brands access to wide international audiences and customer sources, including cashback services and coupon platforms, social media and influencer marketing, native advertising, search engine marketing, traffic-buying specialists and many others. 

In 2022, Admitad achieved impressive results for its Chinese partners, boosting the number of sales in key global markets by 143% and the Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) by 343%. 

• In Europe, orders rose by 122% and the GMV increased fourfold. 

• In the US, orders increase by 3.5 times, with a fourfold increase in GMV. 

• In LATAM, orders multiplied by 3.5 times and GMV saw an almost ninefold growth.

Secondary markets also performed well, with Chinese companies in MENA and APAC seeing an average order growth of 80-90% and GMVs that more than doubled.

Partner marketing has been a vital catalyst for Chinese success in overseas markets, offering companies of all sizes innovative marketing and e-commerce solutions.

Anna Gidirim, CEO of Admitad

Admitad has been a vital catalyst for Chinese success in overseas markets, offering companies of all sizes innovative marketing and e-commerce solutions. The network uses its cutting-edge tracking technologies and dedicated quality department to ensure advertisers receive only the highest standard of traffic quality. Personal managers leverage their vast experience in the field to make sure that each Chinese brand gets a lightning-fast and informative response to every request.

2023 is poised to be another successful year for Admitad’s Chinese partners. The first half of the year has already seen European order numbers grow by over 30%, and the hottest sales period is yet to come. The greatest influx of new orders in the first half of the year came from the United States, Brazil, France, Spain, Poland, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom. Admitad remains at the forefront of partner marketing innovation – securing the successful growth and profitability of its Chinese partners worldwide.

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