Belarus's JD.com and Douyin online stores woo Chinese consumers with chocolates and crisps
Belarus, an "all-weather good friend" of China's, has launched online stores on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com and short video app Douyin, China's version of TikTok, to promote and sell its goods to Chinese consumers.
It hosted a live-streaming session on its Douyin channel on Tuesday to promote products such as chocolates and crisps to Chinese audiences, who could place orders within the live-streaming channel.
The live stream, which was attended by Yuri Senko, Belarus's ambassador to China, attracted about 207,000 views and briefly rose to second place on Douyin's goods promotion rankings, which are based on engagement and rating.
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The stores on Douyin and JD.com, which were launched last month, have been conceived by Great Stone Industrial Park, a joint venture between Beijing and Minsk. Belarus' Douyin account, which regularly posts videos about living, travelling and studying in the country, is followed by more than 209,000. The store has sold more than 23,000 units of various goods, according to its front page. The Belarus JD.com shop has a follower base of 13,000 people.
The country's embassy in China and Great Stone Industrial Park did not immediately respond to inquiries made by the Post.
Belarus's increased presence on Chinese e-commerce platforms comes amid increased sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States for its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
China is, however, Belarus's second-largest trading partner. In May this year, China exported goods worth US$164 million to the country of 9.4 million people, and imported goods worth US$135 million, according to customs data compiled by the Observatory of Economic Complexity. China's key import from Belarus is fertiliser.
Belarus is not the first country to launch stores on the short video platform - France and South Africa also have channels on Douyin, which they use to sell wine.
Russia also has a flagship store on JD.com, where it offers various kinds of products, ranging from honey to biscuits. In March, some Chinese consumers rushed to buy Russian products to show their support for Moscow soon after its invasion of Ukraine.
The model of having a country-specific e-commerce channel targeting Chinese consumers was started by Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post, in 2015, when its Tmall Global launched a mini-site for South Korean merchants. The US, UK, France, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Turkiye have also opened official shops on Tmall since.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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