How Chinese E-Commerce Giant JD.Com Reaches Entrepreneurs Worldwide

China is the largest e-commerce market in the world and has been for many years. With over 700 million online shoppers and over $2 trillion in online sales in 2024, China presents an important market for startups, entrepreneurs and established global brands to sell their products. In the current geopolitical climate, where some markets will be more difficult to access than others, JD.com and other Chinese online retailers are launching targeted programs to engage entrepreneurs around the world.

Many large American brands, like Nike and Apple have long been successful in China, although no official data is available about total sales of by American companies in China. For smaller entrepreneurs, there are special “cross-border e-commerce pilot zones” that let international sellers import products with streamlined processes. For the legions of climate-tech and sustainability focused entrepreneurs in the world, China will most likely be the dominant market over the next five years, with mandates for EV cars, renewable energy, sustainable packaging and carbon capture. But China is a difficult market for many reasons, including language barriers, regulatory constraints and a culture that needs to be understood.

JD.com is already a well-known e-commerce platform. Founded in 1998 by Richard Liu Qiangdong as a bricks and mortar optical equipment store, it has grown to rank 44^th on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2024. It is one of China’s largest online retailers, helping global brands like Apple reach millions of Chinese consumers, and millions around the world.

In 2025, JD.com announced a “10 Billion Growth Plan” to introduce 1,000 overseas brands into China over a few years under its cross-border platforms. It is very interesting that, in a time when nations around the world are becoming more protectionist of their local industries through fees, subsidies, incentives, FDI restrictions, national security constraints, global e-commerce giants are able to leverage their economies of scale to partner with entrepreneurs, who are often a protected class.

JD.com is expanding its European retail platform (Joybuy) and its operations in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, and doubling its warehouse capacity overseas to support this growth. It’s an example of how scale, logistics network, and strong consumer trust help it to benefit from the global opportunity that digital transformation and e-commerce still provides for useful products. We often hear about the global economy in the context of American decisions, or in response to US actions. But JD.com is reacting a broader opportunity to engage with startups, innovators and others who are based in Europe and elsewhere and want to access China.

American startups and companies need to look no further than Apple to learn how to conduct business in China. Since becoming Apple’s first authorized online partner in 2009, JD.com has used its scale and logistics to sells more iPhones and other consumer electronics in China than any other platform. The partnership has grown significantly over the years, with JD.com working closely with Apple to handle product launches, pre-orders, and nationwide delivery, helping Apple maintain its image as a premium brand while reaching customers even in smaller Chinese cities. JD.com data shows that over 8 million people had already booked the new iPhone 17 before pre-sales began. The iPhone is clearly a premium product, but it needed local partners to build confidence with over 1 billion Chinese consumers. Apple’s story may be unique, but the manner in which it is using strategic partnerships and channels to expand sales, is something that every nascent entrepreneur can learn from.

The global economy is going through turbulent times. Emerging markets continue to grow and build their economies, and emerging technologies could be transformational to everything we do. At the same time, global conflict, stagnation and protectionism will, in the short term, make it more difficult for entrepreneurs to scale globally. Local understanding of market conditions and customer behavior, whether its Europe, India or China will be critical – and no better way to do that than through partnerships with leading global platforms that have the scale to overcome some of the barriers faced by a smaller startup.