(Yicai) April 21 -- In the face of the global tariff storm unleashed by the United States, the Shanghai government has teamed up with leading e‑commerce platforms and retail groups to introduce a series of measures aimed at helping Chinese exporters sell in the home market.

To lower the costs for exporters seeking domestic sales, the local government and its partner platforms and groups will provide companies with policy consultations, updates on standards changes, product testing, and certification services, it said at a networking event on April 18. 

For export goods temporarily redirected to domestic channels, companies will be permitted to affix Chinese labels that comply with local regulations, the city government added.

Sixteen of China’s top e‑commerce platforms partnered up with nearly 80 foreign trade companies at the matchmaking event, Yicai learned.

As part of the policy package, e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group Holding's Taobao and Tmall, JD.Com, and Pinduoduo as well as large retailers like Bailian Group and Suning will set up special sections on their platforms for exporters, promote the domestic sale of their export products, and offer support in marketing and training.

Shanghai will also bolster financial support for foreign trade firms entering the home market by encouraging banks to provide various financing solutions for this purpose, the local branch of the National Financial Regulatory Administration said at the event. Moreover, the watchdog will help firms with export credit insurance to switch to domestic trade credit insurance.

Trade frictions between China and the US have escalated since President Donald Trump announced a slew of "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2, with the additional tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US market soaring to 125 percent from 34 percent. The Trump administration also removed the de minimis tariff exemption for goods valued at less than USD800.

While Chinese companies with large overseas businesses are trying to diversify their export destinations to countries and regions other than the United States, such as the European Union and Southeast Asia, others are trying to focus more on the domestic market. But neither of the two approaches is simple.

Shanghai Real Trading, which mainly exports home storage and sanitary products, has been expanding its presence in Europe, Japan, and South Korea since 2018, lowering the share of its exports to the US to between 10 percent and 20 percent from 40 percent to 50 percent, General Manager Gu Keda told Yicai at the event.

Amid the China-US trade frictions of 2018, Shanghai Real Trading tried to pivot to the domestic market but failed to achieve significant results due to different product requirements and business models, Gu noted.

“Previously, if you wanted to enter the domestic e-commerce space, you needed to pass platforms’ strict screening rounds, and our products didn’t have a competitive edge either," Gu noted. “But under the current policy guidance, many platforms have lowered their entry barriers and offer fast‑track onboarding and traffic support, giving us hope amid the crisis.”

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione