Amazon Global VP Cindy Tai: Smart Supply Chains, Innovation Acceleration, and Global Expansion Drive Cross-Border E-commerce Forward

[Ebrun Exclusive] In response to this year's Government Work Report's call to "promote the expansion, upgrade, and standardized, orderly development of the cross-border e-commerce plus overseas warehouse model," Cindy Tai, Vice President of Amazon and Global Head of Amazon Global Selling, recently published a signed article. She stated that cross-border e-commerce has entered an era of "selling globally upon listing" and proposed the "three key drivers" propelling the sector towards innovation and excellence.

Regarding these drivers, she pointed out that first, cross-border supply chains are undergoing a deep evolution towards digitalization and intelligence; second, innovation momentum is accelerating, driving Chinese sellers to achieve a value leap from "selling products" to "building brands," and from "meeting demand" to "creating demand"; third, global expansion has shifted from being an "option" to a "necessity," with market diversification progressing significantly faster.

"To achieve genuine progress towards innovation and excellence, the entire industry still needs to collaboratively tackle key challenges. For instance, the smart supply chains and accelerated innovation required for 'moving forward' place higher demands on lean cost management and the cultivation of high-end cross-border talent. Meanwhile, the brand building and sustainable development required for 'moving upward' must be built upon a foundation of deep compliance operations in global markets. Exploring new markets and understanding new customer segments are inevitable tasks under the coordinated operation of these three drivers," Tai wrote in the article.

Additionally, she indicated that Amazon is demonstrating a development trend of "new sellers actively joining and established sellers thriving robustly." For example, the seller summit held in Hangzhou last December saw a record number of new sellers participating on-site; in 2025, Chinese new sellers expanded rapidly on Amazon's global marketplace: not only did the number of new sellers operating across multiple sites increase significantly, but their product sales also achieved double-digit growth in both mature and emerging marketplaces. Established sellers also showed strong resilience. In 2025, sales by Chinese sellers on Amazon's mature sites like the US and Europe grew by over 15%, and by over 30% on emerging sites; the number of Chinese sellers exceeding $10 million in sales on Amazon grew by nearly 30%.

The following is the full text of Cindy Tai's signed article:

The 2026 Government Work Report proposed promoting the expansion, upgrade, and standardized, orderly development of the cross-border e-commerce plus overseas warehouse model. How to cultivate new drivers for foreign trade and develop new quality productive forces has become a crucial topic for promoting high-quality development in foreign trade. In 2025, China's foreign trade exports withstood headwinds, reaching a scale of 26.99 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, making significant contributions to the Chinese economy. Among these, new foreign trade formats represented by cross-border e-commerce, characterized by innovation-driven and digitally-enabled features, are becoming a key force leading foreign trade towards innovation and excellence.

Driven by cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce has entered an era of "selling globally upon listing." At last year's seller summit, we significantly unveiled the latest strategy and model for global expansion—the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain"—turning the vision of "one inventory pool supplying the world" into reality. A new landscape for the future high-quality development of export-oriented cross-border e-commerce is quietly unfolding.

'Moving forward' focuses on cultivating innovation momentum, emphasizing innovation-driven growth. 'Moving upward' emphasizes quality improvement and sustainable development. For global-expansion enterprises, driving progress through optimizing supply chains, product innovation, and global expansion, and pursuing excellence through brand building and compliant operations, is not only the key to addressing challenges but also the essential path to seizing the opportunities of our time.

New Sellers Actively Join, Established Sellers Thrive Robustly

On Amazon, we clearly see this vitality bursting forth, first evident in the influx of new blood: new sellers, new products, and new categories continuously emerge and achieve rapid success. For instance, Shenzhen, as the national "super hub" for cross-border e-commerce, saw both the number of new Amazon sellers and their sales scale exceed expectations in 2025. The seller summit held in Hangzhou last December attracted a record number of new seller participants on-site. In 2025, Chinese new sellers demonstrated strong momentum in expanding their Amazon global business: not only did the number of new sellers operating across multiple sites increase substantially, but their product sales also achieved double-digit growth in both mature and emerging marketplaces.

Amid a volatile international economic environment, Chinese sellers have also demonstrated remarkable resilience. In 2025, sales by Chinese sellers on Amazon's mature sites like the US and Europe grew by over 15%, and by over 30% on emerging sites. The number of Chinese sellers surpassing $10 million in sales on Amazon increased by nearly 30%.

"Three Key Drivers" Propel Cross-Border E-commerce Forward and Upward

The shared prosperity of new and established sellers is deeply driven by three major transformations catalyzed by new-generation information technologies like AI: the deep evolution of supply chains, the accelerated enhancement of innovation capabilities, and the continuous expansion of global footprint.

First, cross-border supply chains are undergoing a deep evolution towards digitalization and intelligence. This is not just an efficiency revolution but key to building a secure, stable, and resilient international trade supply chain. In practice, more sellers are actively building intelligent, flexible supply chain systems covering core stages like product R&D, manufacturing, cross-border logistics, and last-mile delivery. For example, Amazon seller Zibuyu shortened its new product development cycle to 7 days through intelligent product selection, rapid design, and small-batch validation, driving performance improvement.

Amazon also continues to innovate in areas like building global smart supply chain networks and deep AI application. By 2025, Amazon's capital expenditure had reached $100 billion, primarily directed towards cloud and AI infrastructure. Recently, Amazon and OpenAI also announced a strategic collaboration, with an expected investment of $50 billion. These investments continuously translate into empowerment for sellers. In 2025, over 13 billion items globally on Amazon achieved same-day or next-day delivery, an increase of nearly 45% year-on-year. At the end of 2025, we announced the world's first Amazon Global Smart Hub Warehouse located in Shenzhen, which will fully open to sellers this March, gradually helping sellers realize "one inventory pool supplying the world."

Second, innovation momentum is accelerating, driving Chinese sellers to achieve a value leap from "selling products" to "building brands," and from "meeting demand" to "creating demand." 'Made in China' is no longer just synonymous with cost-effectiveness but is constantly breaking through in quality, design, technological content, and brand value.

For instance, seller Sand River Robotics, aiming to solve the hassle of water refilling for floor washers, gathered feedback by analyzing customer reviews and invented a mopping and washing robot that eliminates water refilling. Within three months of launching on Amazon, sales surpassed $1 million. This is just one example of sellers intensifying product innovation. Nearly 40% of Chinese sellers' sales on Amazon over the past year came from new selections created within 12 months, underscoring the value of rapid product iteration.

In the context of the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain," globalization has been front-loaded. True globalization begins at the product R&D stage—integrating a global mindset from day one into design, development, packaging, compliance, etc., is essential to truly activate the global potential of the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain" and gain initiative in the era of "selling globally upon listing."

Third, global expansion has shifted from an "option" to a "necessity," with market diversification progressing significantly faster. Beyond traditional e-commerce powerhouses like the US, Europe, and Japan, Chinese sellers are finding new opportunities in regions like Latin America, the Middle East, Australia, and India. For example, on the Brazil marketplace, sales by Chinese FBA sellers increased over fourfold year-on-year; on European marketplaces, the number of newly launched Chinese sellers grew over 25% compared to the previous year.

A more profound change in global expansion is that the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain" will rewrite the previous path of "expanding country by country gradually"—the first day a product is listed is also the first day it goes on sale simultaneously across multiple countries and marketplaces.

The common conclusion from these three transformations is: cross-border e-commerce has evolved from a competition for traffic to a competition for capabilities. Those who can first establish advantages in supply chain, innovation, and global footprint will seize the initiative in the next wave of growth.

Moving Forward and Upward: Cross-Border E-commerce Ushers in a New Wave of Growth

In 2015, China's first Cross-Border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone was established in Hangzhou, and Amazon officially brought its Global Selling business to China. A decade later, empowered by strong entrepreneurial spirit, leveraging industrial cluster advantages across the country, supported by increasingly mature supply chain systems, sound industrial policies, and a rich network of cross-border service providers, Chinese sellers are entering a critical period of opportunity. The advent of the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain" serves as vital infrastructure support for this opportunity period.

Research firm eMarketer estimates that global retail e-commerce revenue outside China will exceed $3.3 trillion in 2026 and is projected to surpass $4 trillion by 2029, presenting vast opportunities for Chinese global-expansion enterprises.

Of course, opportunities always coexist with challenges. To achieve genuine progress towards innovation and excellence, the entire industry still needs to collaboratively tackle key challenges. For instance, the smart supply chains and accelerated innovation required for 'moving forward' place higher demands on lean cost management and the cultivation of high-end cross-border talent. Meanwhile, the brand building and sustainable development required for 'moving upward' must be built upon a foundation of deep compliance operations in global markets. Exploring new markets and understanding new customer segments are inevitable tasks under the coordinated operation of these three drivers.

The next decade will be a crucial window for innovation to lead global trade. As a long-term, trusted channel connecting Chinese sellers with global customers, Amazon will continue to play a bridging role. Through technological innovation and service system development, we are committed to helping Chinese sellers enhance product innovation, strengthen supply chain resilience, build brand competitiveness, and expand into global markets. Amazon also looks forward to collaborating with all stakeholders to jointly promote the sustainable development of the cross-border e-commerce industry, enabling more Chinese brands to go global via the "Next-Generation Cross-Border Chain," realize "selling globally upon listing," and contribute to high-quality foreign trade development and the cultivation of new quality productive forces.