Foreign students in Chengdu help China’s products to go global via live-streaming e-commerce channels

Many foreign students in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, have jumped onto China’s live-streaming bandwagon and are now promoting China’s products to consumers in their homelands, which is helping China’s products to go global.

Photo shows Weng Thong Loh (R) participating in a live-streaming e-commerce competition in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Impressed by China’s burgeoning live-streaming e-commerce, Zimbabwean student Vigil, who studies international economics and trade at the Sichuan Agricultural University, has started to host one live-streaming session with some friends each and every week. During one session, Vigil first introduced a waterproof hiking jacket in front of a camera’s lens after offering his best sales pitch, and then proceeded to pour some water onto the jacket to demonstrate its excellent water resistance.

Vigil hopes to continue to pursue his dream as a live-streamer in the field of cross-border e-commerce after graduation, bringing more and more Chinese commodities to the markets of his hometown.

“Many foreign students have the same plan,” the student suggested. “Smart phones are widely used in Africa, where network systems have been improved. More importantly, China’s products are very popular in Africa. I’m confident that more African people will buy Chinese products through live-streaming sessions in the future,” Vigil said.

Weng Thong Loh from Malaysia started to run a live-streaming e-commerce business after he graduated from Chengdu University in 2020, and has accumulated over 100,000 followers on a popular short-video platform. Many of the Chinese products are very popular in ASEAN countries, where conventional sales channels are lacking, according to Loh. Loh hoped to make good use of live-streaming e-commerce platforms to bring more Chinese products to ASEAN countries.

“Live-streaming e-commerce is an ideal way to promote Chinese products and brands to overseas markets,” observed Yao Zhengyi, general secretary of the Chengdu Cross-border E-commerce Association. Yao believed that foreign students in China can provide a bond between Chinese companies and the overseas market. They can help Chinese companies better understand overseas markets while making their products and operation modes more suitable and targeted to overseas consumers.