1,583 trillion euros. This is the amount reached by e-commerce sales in China in 2020, making it the world leader.

Since then, this position has only strengthened, especially as certain trends and consumer habits are particularly prevalent in China and help maintain its dominant position, notably :

  • The regular organization of shopping festivals: similar to the American Black Friday, Chinese e-commerce apps increasingly organize events and shopping festivals that allow brands not yet known to launch on the Chinese market and online sellers to offer even more attractive prices. Among the most famous is Double 11, organized by Alibaba.
  •  Social commerce: Many brands have understood the importance of influence and social media and are establishing numerous collaborations with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders or influencers) to promote their products, to the point that some of these networks are now primarily intended for commerce.
  • The seamless implementation of digital payments fully integrated into Chinese e-commerce platforms. Thus, Alipay and WeChat Pay are now the preferred online payment tools for Chinese consumers, greatly facilitating purchases via smartphones rather than computers.

While it is difficult to compile an exhaustive list of Chinese platforms due to their sheer number, some are nevertheless essential to know in order to enter this market and implement an effective marketing strategy.

Thus, Tmall.com and JD.com have been the leading and essential platforms since 2020 (Tmall, although experiencing a slight decline, remains the most widely used). They are characterized by a vast range of products, an advanced customer experience, and the establishment of a strong trust relationship with users.

Next come Douyin and Little Red Book, social commerce platforms. The former is the Chinese equivalent of TikTok and has experienced significant growth in 2024, while the latter now resembles more of a forum where consumers share their shopping experiences.

TaoBao, Pinduoduo, Kaola, Vipshop, WeChat… are among the many other applications that may be of interest depending on the nature of the products considered.

The functioning of these platforms is quite self-contained: they have their own rules, which are often not harmonized. Therefore, launching your brand on these platforms requires developing a well-thought-out strategy in advance to facilitate your registration and the sale of your products, while also minimizing the risk of counterfeits as much as possible.

I. Conditions for marketing products on platforms

Each platform enforces its own rules, which can be more or less strict, sometimes making it difficult to market products. Since these platforms are private, they have full authority to establish their own regulations—Amazon follows a similar approach with its Amazon Business service.

Some of the major platforms impose particularly high requirements. They aim to limit sales to products of a certain quality standard, which is likely a key factor in their success, while also preventing the sale of counterfeit goods.

The primary condition is proof of trademark rights in China (and sometimes a national trademark specifically) for the products being sold. However, securing a trademark registration in China is becoming increasingly challenging, as the Chinese Trademark Office rigorously checks for sign availability, and the registry is becoming increasingly saturated, with over 82.5 million registered trademarks in total.

Conversely, some platforms impose fewer restrictions. This is especially true for platforms operating in highly specific or niche markets. For instance, Pinduoduo initially limited its operations to a very specific region but has since become a direct competitor of JD.com.

Another option is to use cross-border e-commerce platforms, which exempt sellers from trademark requirements in China. This can be a significant advantage, particularly for foreign businesses.

Sales and purchases are simplified and conducted directly in a B2C model, without the need to label products in Chinese. The products are sold in China exactly as they would be in their country of origin.

Given their success, even the most well-known e-commerce platforms have developed their own cross-border equivalents, including :

  • The equivalent of Tmall : Tmall Global. Developed by Alibaba, it is currently the largest Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform. While the conditions are more flexible, products must still go through Chinese customs and be inspected by a dedicated service: Tmall Global Security.
  • The equivalent of JD.com : JD Worldwide. This platform allows consumers to purchase products from foreign companies and is particularly well-known in the home appliance sector. However, sellers must prove that they are not established in China while still holding trademark rights or a valid license abroad.

II. Consequences of the requirements imposed by platforms

The rigor and formality imposed can have significant consequences on the market.

Indeed, the requirement for total alignment between the registered trademark and the products intended for sale often results in blocking applications for formal reasons : unregistered trademark, products not explicitly specified in the registration certificate, etc.

However, if an application is blocked, it delays the launch of products both on the platform and in the market itself. Formality, therefore, becomes an obstacle to trade.

As mentioned in the introduction, each platform has its own rules, and as a result, one must submit as many applications as there are targeted platforms for sale.

The main damage ultimately lies in timing : the requirement for a registered trademark certificate conflicts with the trademark registration process in China. The number of trademarks registered in China in 2023 is around nine million (compared to about one million in the European Union).

It generally takes two to three years to obtain trademark registration, which means anticipating product sales in this country. Therefore, it is recommended, when planning digital sales in China in the long run, not to wait until having a local distributor or licensee but to initiate the process in advance. Anticipating allows you to be ready when you want to sell!

In addition to the entry requirements imposed by these platforms, it is also essential to consider the consequences of a potential product withdrawal, particularly in the event of a commercial rupture with an authorized third party.

III. Use of the trademark by a licensee

When a trademark is marketed by a distributor or licensee and you wish to terminate this relationship, simply ending the contract is not enough to regain control over the sale of your products.

Indeed, if the goods were sold by your former partner on one of these platforms, and provided that they are not entirely honest, nothing will truly stop them from continuing to sell products under your brand.

Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the partner is deregistered from the platform.

Although the rules differ slightly from one platform to another, the requirement to provide the trademark certificate confirming our ownership, the official letter addressed to the partner terminating the license or distribution agreement, and a power of attorney (either scanned, notarized, or apostilled, depending on the case) for the local representative to handle the procedure on your behalf, are almost always necessary.

The consideration of our request is usually swift, although it may be subject to a contradictory procedure that could extend the processing time by a few weeks.

In any case, it is essential to keep this process in mind when terminating a license or distribution agreement with an operator in the Chinese market in order to regain control over the commercialization of your brand in this territory.

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To market products in China, it is now necessary to master the nature and functioning of each platform, which is no small feat given their number and variety.