Author | Yuan Fang

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After years of intense low-price competition, Chinese brands are finally making significant inroads into the high-end market overseas.

Recently, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement aimed at further promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce exports. This policy is designed to streamline regulatory processes and enhance customs clearance efficiency, thereby reducing corporate costs.

Another noteworthy shift is that cross-border e-commerce platforms once primarily focused on promoting Yiwu small commodities and small household appliances overseas. However, since 2025, the landscape has dramatically changed. Many platforms have started prioritizing the promotion and subsidization of high-end products, including those from Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, DJI, Unitree Robotics, Rokid VR glasses, and projectors.

For a considerable period, when discussing Chinese cross-border e-commerce, people often first think of the variety of Yiwu small commodities and the cost-effectiveness of small household appliances. Platforms like AliExpress and Temu have long relied on these low-priced products to establish a presence in the global market. Yiwu's small commodities, ranging from delicate accessories to various practical daily items, appeal to worldwide consumers seeking affordable options. Small household appliances, such as budget-friendly electric kettles and fans, are also widely circulated in overseas markets, meeting consumers' basic needs.

This strategy of leveraging low prices as a core competitive advantage has been highly effective, enabling a large number of Chinese products to swiftly capture international market share.

However, entering 2025, the situation has undergone a remarkable transformation. Platforms like AliExpress and Temu have resolutely shifted their strategic direction, no longer centering on Yiwu small commodities and small household appliances but instead investing heavily in promoting and subsidizing high-tech products. Brands such as Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, DJI, and Unitree Robotics have become the focal points of support on these platforms.

Many cross-border merchants have exclaimed, "After years of low-price competition, Chinese brands are finally breaking into the high-end market."

1. From Cost-effectiveness to Cutting-edge Technology

The product mix on cross-border e-commerce platforms is undergoing profound structural adjustments. Taking AliExpress as an example, its 2024 billion-yuan subsidy plan saw a significant increase in the proportion of consumer electronics products, surpassing 40%. This data clearly highlights the growing importance of consumer electronics on these platforms.

Among them, the projector brand Magcubic stands out, with its best-selling product experiencing a staggering 300% month-on-month sales increase. Through continuous investment in technology research and development, Magcubic has continually optimized its projection quality, brightness, and intelligent operating system, making its products deeply beloved by overseas consumers. The vacuum cleaner brand Laresar has also achieved impressive results, with its flagship model demonstrating robust sales momentum during the Double 11 shopping festival, surpassing $80,000 in sales within two hours. Laresar is committed to developing efficient vacuuming technology and intelligent cleaning modes, meeting consumers' high-quality demands for home cleaning.

On the Amazon platform, the sales data of Chinese sellers also shows a clear trend of change. The proportion of technology products priced over $100 in the GMV contributed by Chinese sellers jumped from 15% in 2022 to 32% in 2024. This substantial increase fully demonstrates that Chinese high-tech products are increasingly recognized and favored by consumers on the Amazon platform, gradually becoming the mainstay of cross-border e-commerce sales.

This transformation did not occur overnight but is the culmination of many Chinese companies' long-term commitment to technological innovation. For instance, Insta360's panoramic cameras have performed exceptionally well in the European and American markets, with a market share exceeding 50%. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Insta360's brand product shipments doubled. With its 360-degree panoramic shooting technology and advanced AI image processing, the company has offered users an unprecedented shooting experience.

Insta360's products not only surpass international brands like GoPro in technical performance but have also successfully broken the long-standing monopoly of international brands in this field with their excellent quality and innovative functions. Insta360's panoramic cameras have also become the sole panoramic camera supplier in the Apple Store, which is undoubtedly a high endorsement of its product technology and quality.

The cross-border e-commerce sector boasts numerous similar success stories. The Dongguan-based earphone brand QCY has achieved significant innovations in noise-cancellation technology through continuous investment in research and development. Its new product launched on AliExpress saw a year-on-year sales increase of up to 500%. QCY's noise-cancelling earphones effectively reduce external noise interference, providing users with a more immersive music experience and meeting consumers' demands for high-quality audio products. Unitree Robotics has quickly become a popular "hit" product in the field of overseas smart manufacturing with its leading industrial-grade robotic arm technology. Offering advantages such as high precision, stability, and load capacity, Unitree Robotics' industrial-grade robotic arms are widely applicable in industrial production, logistics, warehousing, and other fields, providing strong support for enterprises to enhance production efficiency and reduce costs.

These cases firmly establish an important consensus in the cross-border e-commerce industry: In today's fiercely competitive market environment, technological barriers are gradually replacing traditional price wars as the key factor for enterprises to gain a competitive edge in cross-border e-commerce. According to authoritative data from Probolsky Research, 76% of American consumers believe that Chinese tech products have surpassed traditional European and American brands in terms of cost-effectiveness. This data indicates that Chinese tech products are not only competitive in price but are also highly recognized by consumers for their product performance and quality.

Furthermore, 81% of consumers stated they are willing to pay a premium for Chinese products with innovative features. This fully demonstrates that Chinese high-tech products, with their unique innovative advantages, have successfully altered consumers' inherent perceptions of Chinese products, and consumers are now willing to pay for high-quality, innovative Chinese products.

2. Why are Overseas Markets Beginning to Favor Chinese Tech Products?

The explosive growth in demand for Chinese high-tech products in overseas markets is the outcome of multiple structural factors interacting and jointly driving this trend.

With the development of the global economy, the size of the US e-commerce market continues to expand, expected to surpass $1.7 trillion by 2025. In this market, Generation Z and Alpha Generation are gradually becoming the main consumer groups. These two generations grew up in an era of rapid technological development and have a strong curiosity and desire for new technologies and products. Their demand for AI, AR/VR, and other tech products is experiencing explosive growth.

In developed markets such as Europe and the United States, young consumers (aged 18-35) are gradually becoming the main force in tech product consumption. This group exhibits distinct consumer characteristics, with relatively low brand loyalty to tech products but high sensitivity to product innovation. Amazon Prime member survey data reveals that 60% of American users consider "technological innovation" as the primary factor when choosing electronic products.

For example, Rokid VR glasses have achieved great success in the European and American markets, with a monthly recurring purchase rate as high as 25%, far surpassing traditional VR devices. Rokid VR glasses provide users with a more accurate and immersive virtual reality experience through its independently developed spatial perception algorithm. Additionally, its lightweight design effectively reduces the burden on users during wear and improves comfort. These innovative features cater to young consumers' desire for novelty and the pursuit of an ultimate tech product experience, making Rokid VR glasses stand out in the competitive VR market.

Chinese tech companies have keenly captured this market trend and successfully captured market share by leveraging their advantages in technology research and development. Taking Unitree's robot dog Go2 as an example, its price is only one-fifth of similar products from Boston Dynamics but offers unique functional advantages, including support for AI motion replication. This innovative feature has garnered widespread attention on the social media platform TikTok, with the hashtag #TrainYourRobot amassing over 1 billion views. With its high cost-effectiveness and innovative features, Unitree's robot dog Go2 quickly gained popularity in the US market, satisfying young consumers' demand for novel tech products.

In European and American markets, consumers' focus on environmental protection and sustainable development is increasing, and their willingness to pay for green products is also significantly enhanced. Relevant research data shows that 70% of North American consumers are willing to pay a 10%-20% premium for products made with eco-friendly materials. Chinese companies have keenly captured this market trend and are actively seizing market share through innovative measures such as biodegradable packaging and low-carbon production processes.

For instance, Anker Innovations' solar charging devices have achieved astonishing results in the European market, with an annual growth rate exceeding 200%. Anker Innovations' solar charging devices utilize efficient solar panels and advanced energy storage technology to provide users with convenient and environmentally friendly charging solutions. Its concept of "green energy solutions" not only aligns with European consumers' pursuit of environmental protection but also offers users a more personalized energy usage method, making it warmly welcomed by European consumers.

Against the current complex geopolitical backdrop, "de-risking" has become a policy orientation for some countries. Chinese brands have effectively mitigated the risks posed by trade barriers by deepening their localized operation strategies. Taking AliExpress as an example, it vigorously promotes the "overseas warehouse + local delivery" model in the European market, significantly reducing the average delivery time from 20 days to 7 days. This initiative not only enhances the shopping experience for consumers but also strengthens the brand's competitiveness in the European market.

3. From "Manufacturing Contractors" to "Brand Exports"?

The rise of Chinese tech brands in the global market is profoundly reshaping the competitive landscape of cross-border e-commerce, realizing a significant transformation from the past role of "manufacturing contractors" to "brand exports".

In the process of globalization, Chinese companies have demonstrated strong scene-based innovation capabilities, adept at deeply integrating advanced technologies with different application scenarios to open up new incremental markets. Taking Unitree Robotics as an example, in response to the labor shortage faced by the agricultural market in Southeast Asia, Unitree Robotics has developed a dedicated picking robot.

This robot combines advanced AI visual recognition technology to accurately identify the maturity and location of crops, enabling efficient and precise picking operations. In Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, where labor costs are rising, Unitree Robotics' picking robot can effectively reduce agricultural production costs and improve production efficiency. As a result, the product's annual growth rate in the Thai and Vietnamese markets is as high as 300%, bringing revolutionary changes to local agricultural production.

In the era of cross-border e-commerce, the synergistic effect between cross-border e-commerce platforms, independent websites, and social media is increasingly significant, becoming an important way for Chinese tech brands to build brand ecosystems and enhance brand influence. Taking Xiaomi as an example, it reaches a vast global audience through well-known cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress, leveraging the platforms' traffic advantages and user base to expand product sales.

Simultaneously, Xiaomi actively conducts "tech teardown" live streaming activities on social media platforms like TikTok, inviting professional technicians to provide detailed explanations and demonstrations of Xiaomi products' technical principles and innovative points. In this way, Xiaomi visually showcases its products' technical strength and innovative advantages to consumers, successfully converting product strength into brand trust. Data shows that in Xiaomi's overseas markets, the conversion rate brought by social media traffic is 2.3 times higher than traditional advertising. This multi-channel collaborative marketing model not only enhances Xiaomi's brand awareness and reputation in overseas markets but also builds a large and active brand ecosystem for it.

The "high-end game" initiated in the cross-border e-commerce sector is by no means a temporary endpoint but merely the starting point of a new journey. With the continuous improvement of global digital trade rules and the accelerating pace of technological innovation, Chinese companies need to continue to make efforts in multiple key areas on this stage full of opportunities and challenges to achieve further breakthroughs and development.

When it comes to brand building, Chinese companies must incessantly fortify their brand image and elevate their international prestige and reputation. A brand transcends being merely a product logo; it is a holistic embodiment of a company's values, technological prowess, and product quality. By persistently investing in brand development, narrating brand narratives, and disseminating the value proposition of Chinese intelligent manufacturing, Chinese brands can carve out a distinctive and profound impression in the minds of global consumers.

Equally vital are localized services. Consumers across diverse countries and regions exhibit significant disparities in culture, consumption patterns, and after-sales service requirements. Chinese companies must undertake thorough localized market research and tailor product design, marketing strategies, and after-sales service systems to align with the characteristics and needs of local consumers. By offering more thoughtful and accessible localized services, we can foster greater recognition and loyalty towards Chinese brands among consumers.

Technology serves as the foundation, but the crux of conquering the global market hinges on making Chinese intelligent manufacturing synonymous with "reliability, innovation, and value." In the days to come, this monumental shift from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing" will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the landscape of the global consumer electronics industry.

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