Strong consumer demand in mainland China for imported products has not only boosted general trade in goods, but also fuelled the expansion of cross‑border e‑commerce retail imports on the mainland. Statistics from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) show that in 2018, retail imports and exports via the Customs’ cross‑border e‑commerce administration platform were worth Rmb134.7 billion, up 50% from the preceding year. Of these, e‑commerce retail exports rose 67% to Rmb56.1 billion, while e‑commerce retail imports increased 39.8% to Rmb78.6 billion. In 2019, the combined value of e‑commerce retail imports and exports soared by a further 38% to Rmb186.2 billion.