US company MeetChina.com, which operates a business-to-business e-commerce web site, has moved its plans ahead by nearly a year following the US/China WTO agreement. We will start providing services for overseas manufacturers to sell to Chinese buyers immediately, said MeetChina.com president Thomas Rosenthal. Launched in April this year, the portal introduces potential overseas buyers to more than 30,000 mostly small- and medium-sized Chinese firms, and allows direct orders sale by auction.
Our dream is to computerize, digitize the entire cross-border trade process, said Joseph Tong, the company’s China chief executive. MeetChina.com, a wholly- foreign-owned enterprise, describes itself as a transactional platform to try and avoid being tagged an internet content provider by the Chinese government.
Zhang Huisheng of the Ministry of Information IndustryÆs information promotion department said there is no clear definition of what is considered to be an internet content provider or even an internet service provider. If it is conducive to the promotion of e-commerce, we will actively give it support, Zhang said.
Under the WTO deal, China will lower tariffs and barriers to US imports and allow 49% foreign holdings in internet services companies. Firms like MeetChina.com have been operating in a grey area, and will continue doing so until internet operations are clearly defined.
