China is turning into a global pioneer and innovator of sharing economy. Sharing services, including bicycles, vehicles and “sleep capsules,” are now part of the Chinese public’s daily lives.

An employee demonstrates how to use a shared vehicle after the first 100 such models were launched in Tonglu, east China’s Zhejiang province on February 11, 2018. (Photo: Visual China)

The country's sharing economy will continue to grow at an annual rate of over 30 percent over the next five years, said a report issued by the State Information Center (SIC) on February 27.

Transactions in China’s sharing economy, according to the report, reached over 4.92 trillion yuan ($777.4 billion) last year, up 47.2 percent year-on-year.

By the end of 2017, 60 Chinese startups had joined the global unicorn club, with each valued over $1 billion. Thirty-one of the listed Chinese firms, or 51.7 percent of them, have been engaged in the sharing business.

The sharing economy began in the US, but soon swept through a number of countries, including China. The world’s second largest economy, after absorbing the advanced business model, has begun to increase investments in overseas markets.

China’s sharing economy is blossoming. China’s logistics companies have launched shared express boxes made from recyclable paper. (Photo: CFP)

Multiple Chinese bicycle-sharing service providers, including Ofo and Mobike, have tested overseas markets since 2015, said Li Yongjian, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

On June 13, 2017, the city of Manchester, England became the 100th city to offer Mobike. The company’s rival, Ofo, has also spread to 250 cities in 20 countries.

Sharing economy is still at an early stage, and those fast-developing fields are at a transition period, said Zhang Xinhong, director of the Sharing Economy Research Institute under SIC. It would take a while before the sector matures, Zhang added.