China's cross-border e-commerce thrives in the Middle East

China's e-commerce players are actively working with local business in the Middle East to build a "digital Silk Road", reports Xinhua.

Zhejiang-based JollyChic is one of those Chinese cross-border e-businesses that have proved popular in the oil-rich Arab countries which lack textiles manufacturing.

An employee works at a JollyChic warehouse in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia on June 25, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

"JollyChic has a great variety of goods with fair prices and high quality, and the most important thing is that the delivery is fast," said 25-year-old Saudi Arabian Rimma, a regular customer on the online shopping website.

JollyChic entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2013. It has since become the largest local online shopping e-commerce platform. It has also expanded its business to neighboring countries including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain.

"Our key to success is building warehouses locally," said JollyChic CEO Li Haiyan. The company's warehouse in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh has helped cutting the time for delivery from 10 to 15 days on average to 2 days.

Workers sort out packages at a JollyChic warehouse in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia on June 25, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

It's reported that Chinese companies took half the spot among the top ten best performing cross-border e-commerce apps in the Middle East in 2016.

China's e-commerce reportedly has brought over 5,000 direct job opportunities to local people as of the end of 2017.

China's e-commerce also stimulated the development of local e-businesses. U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon purchased the Middle East brand Souq in 2017. In addition, UAE real estate developer who own Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping center, announced that they would invest 1 billion U.S. dollars to build the Middle Eastern version of Alibaba.