China Cross-border E-commerce Agency: Sell to China Without a Chinese Company

QPSoftware is a cross-border e-commerce agency in Shanghai. We help foreign brands sell to Chinese consumers without opening a company in China: a store inside WeChat or on the web, payment in RMB with WeChat Pay or Alipay, and settlement in your own currency. For Ma France, we built a WeChat Mini Program marketplace whose payments are transferred to its bank account in France.

WeChat cross-border e-commerce brings the store, the payment and the conversation with your customers into one app. Since 2009, QPSoftware has delivered more than 200 projects, and our e-commerce team in Shanghai sets up every part of the chain: the storefront, the payment account, the connection with your logistics partners and the launch.

Who cross-border e-commerce is for

Cross-border e-commerce means selling online to customers in another country, here China, without setting up a local company: you sell under your own entity. The U.S. International Trade Administration describes this model as a way for foreign firms to avoid local registration, with products that are tariff-free within the limits set for individual buyers: RMB 5,000 per order and RMB 26,000 per year. The channel is large: according to the same source, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached CNY 2.38 trillion in 2023.

It suits brands that:

• want to test demand in China before investing in a local company;
• sell products that Chinese customers look for abroad, since many of them see foreign products as good quality and innovative;
• have goods on China’s list of goods for cross-border e-commerce retail imports, adjusted in 2022 by eight authorities, including the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs.

Our guide to cross-border e-commerce in China explains the marketplaces, customs clearance and logistics in detail, and our article on China’s cross-border e-commerce rules covers the reform that took effect in 2019.

What QPSoftware sets up for your cross-border store

• The storefront: a WeChat Mini Program store, an H5 store opened from your WeChat Official Account, or a mobile website. See how we open a WeChat store for your brand.
• Payment in RMB, settlement in your currency: the cross-border payment account and its integration in your store, explained in the next section.
• Prices and currency: product prices shown to Chinese customers with automatic currency conversion, as we developed for Ma France.
• Back office: products, stock, orders with their payment and shipping status, customers and promotions, in English or in another language.
• Promotions: coupons and discounts sent to the followers of your Official Account.
• Logistics and customs: handled with your logistics partners. We build the e-commerce integrations in China that send orders to your warehouse or partner. Products ship from abroad, or from bonded warehouses in China’s cross-border pilot zones, which count as overseas under this model.

Paid in RMB in China, settled in your own currency

Chinese customers pay in RMB, with the wallet they already use. A cross-border payment service collects the payment and settles you in a foreign currency, in your bank account outside China: you do not need a Chinese company or a Chinese bank account to receive the money. WeChat Pay, for example, settles overseas merchants in 16 currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, HKD and CHF. Outside Hong Kong, the UK and Singapore, where WeChat Pay also contracts directly with merchants, the account goes through a payment institution that holds the contract with WeChat Pay.

Our page on China payment gateway integration explains how this layer is added once WeChat Pay or Alipay works on your store. For Ma France, we developed the API that connects the WeChat Mini Program to the GoAllPay platform: customers pay from their WeChat wallet, the store converts prices automatically, and the money is transferred to Ma France’s bank account in France.

To compare providers, read our review of the payment gateways that reach Chinese consumers, and our answer to the question do you need a company in China to sell online.

Your own store or a marketplace: two ways to sell cross-border

Cross-border marketplaces

Marketplaces such as Tmall Global and JD Worldwide let you sell through platforms that Chinese shoppers already use. To be accepted, you must follow their rules and meet their requirements. They are easier to join for a business that has already proven successful in other countries; for a new brand, access can be a challenge.

Your own cross-border store

Your own store, on the web or inside WeChat, is the other route when you do not want to set up a company in China. You keep control of the design, the customer data and the promotions, and your partner sets up the local payment methods. On WeChat, the store sits next to your Official Account, so the same app carries your content, your store and your customer service. Our guidance to WeChat cross-border e-commerce details the accounts, logistics, taxes and payment.

How we launch your cross-border store

We run the project with our agile methodology: you review and accept each stage before the next one starts.

1. Scoping: your products checked against the official list, your target customers, the sales channel and the logistics model chosen with your partners.
2. Accounts: the WeChat Official Account and Mini Program, and the cross-border payment account with a payment institution.
3. Design: screens adapted to Chinese customers and to WeChat’s design guidelines.
4. Development and integrations: catalog, cart, checkout, currency conversion, back office, and the connection to your ERP and logistics partner.
5. Testing and review: payments tested end to end, then the Mini Program submitted to WeChat’s review before release.
6. Launch and follow-up: go-live, promotions to your followers, maintenance and new features.