(Yicai) Oct. 20 -- Artificial intelligence is changing the way foreign trade businesses in China operate, with applications expanding beyond information searches to preliminary negotiations and other processes, significantly improving work efficiency, Yicai learned at the ongoing 140th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair.

Several foreign trade platforms began rolling out AI assistant features last year, allowing buyers and suppliers to test the tools, Wang Yiran, vice general manager for China at Argentina’s Sina Solutions, told Yicai.

These AI assistants can distribute buyers’ procurement requests to multiple suppliers, Wang said. On receiving an inquiry, suppliers’ AI tools will immediately provide a brief response, greatly speeding up communication between the two sides.

By contrast, under traditional business practices, buyers and suppliers communicate via email, with a single round of correspondence potentially taking as long as three days and even longer if a public holiday is involved.

Wang cited the example of helping an Argentine client select motorcycle suppliers at this year’s Canton Fair. Based on the client’s specific requirements, an AI assistant quickly identified potential business partners from among the many exhibitors, substantially improving work efficiency.

GameSir uses AI not only to enhance the user experience of its gaming products but also to improve the efficiency of multilingual content creation, advertising campaigns and user sentiment analysis, Leon Lian, vice president of overseas marketing at the supplier of gaming peripherals and gaming platform software, told Yicai. It also provides overseas customers with round-the-clock customer service in multiple languages.

Efficiency Gains

AI has improved operational efficiency while reducing various costs, Lian said. These include costs related to multilingual content production, staffing for cross-time-zone communications and customer service, market intelligence gathering and competitor research, as well as internal coordination across departments within the company.

“AI adoption is affecting both buyers and suppliers,” Lu Yi, vice president of Focus Technology the parent company of B2B e-commerce platform Made-in-China.com, and general manager of its AI center, told Yicai. AI assistants for foreign trade combine multiple AI agents to help suppliers consolidate product information across B2B platforms, independent websites and social media. They can also use AI-generated content to produce marketing videos and promotional materials, with applications extending to order follow-up and business negotiations, he added.

For buyers, these AI assistants also function as multi-agent systems, helping them clarify their requirements, retrieve real-time data, conduct negotiations on their behalf and request quotations across multiple platforms, Lu said.

“For years, information asymmetry has been a major source of profit for foreign trade businesses, but AI is narrowing that gap, making prices and business processes increasingly transparent. This is the fundamental reason why both buyers and sellers are willing to adopt the technology,” Wang said.

Higher Verification Costs

However, while AI can improve efficiency for both buyers and sellers, it also increases the costs of verification and due diligence.

Wang said AI assistants have recommended a larger pool of qualified suppliers, increasing his workload for verifying their credentials and suitability. “Of course, this is a good problem to have,” he added.

A department head at a B2B platform revealed that the company has recently set up a new manual verification department to independently check information provided by AI tools. With AI-generated videos becoming increasingly easy to produce, real people are needed to verify the authenticity of the content.

“Using AI does not save much money in the early stages, but it will definitely improve efficiency over the long run,” Lian said. “Our goal is to keep the number of employees stable while doubling business volume.”

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor