(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
Policy tailwinds, platform incentives, and shifting consumer psychology have aligned perfectly—making 2025–2026 the easiest two-year window in history for overseas brands to win in China via influencers.
1. New Cross-Border Policy Dividends
1.1 Expanded Positive List & Bonded Zones Over 1,800 new product categories were added to the cross-border positive list in 2024–2025, with import tariffs reduced to 0–7% for most consumer goods. Logistics time from overseas warehouse to consumer dropped to 3–5 days.
1.2 ¥150,000 Annual Tax-Free Quota Individual consumers can now purchase up to ¥150,000 tax-free per year (up from ¥26,000), dramatically increasing average order value for premium overseas products.
2. Platform Subsidy War for Overseas Brands
2.1 Tmall International & Douyin Global Both platforms are offering 2025 traffic subsidies worth hundreds of millions RMB exclusively to verified overseas brands that collaborate with local KOLs. Effective CPC can be as low as ¥0.15 during subsidy periods.
2.2 Xiaohongshu “Hai Tao” Special Algorithm Lane Cross-border content now receives 3–5× higher organic distribution when tagged correctly, creating a temporary but massive visibility advantage.
3. Consumer Psychology Shift Toward Overseas Products
3.1 Quality Over Price Premium Post-pandemic Chinese consumers now prioritize quality, ingredients, and origin story—exactly where overseas brands have natural advantages. 74% of tier-1 city consumers say they trust overseas brands more for skincare and health products.
3.2 “Global Lifestyle” Social Currency Owning and sharing authentic overseas products has become a status symbol among Gen-Z and millennial consumers, amplifying organic sharing.
4. Maturing Agency & Service Ecosystem
4.1 One-Stop Cross-Border Solutions Agencies now handle everything: KOL selection, content production, platform filing, bonded logistics, customer service, and returns—all under one contract. Launch-to-sales timeline has shrunk from 6 months to 4–6 weeks.
Case Study: New Zealand Manuka Honey Brand (Early 2025) Taking full advantage of the new positive list and platform subsidies, a mid-sized Manuka honey brand launched with 72 Xiaohongshu + Douyin KOLs in February 2025. Within 90 days it achieved ¥94 million GMV, secured Tmall International category #1, and built a 380K-member WeChat private traffic pool.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with Chile Cherries for many years, reaching Chinese consumers in depth through different platforms and realizing that Chile Cherries’ exports in China account for 97% of the total exports in Asia. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
