To The Moon

The IFA trade show in Berlin has now reached its 102nd year, serving as the launchpad for pivotal shifts in consumer electronics, from vintage radios to today's AI-driven robots. It is where global brands debut their latest innovations and European distributors and industry insiders scout for the next wave of market-ready products.

This year, a new player made its debut at the century-old exhibition. AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce arm of Alibaba, brought nine brands to IFA, marking the first time a Chinese e-commerce platform among the industry's so-called "Four Little Dragons" has participated in a major international trade show. Rather than displaying its own products, AliExpress set up a pavilion for nine emerging Chinese tech brands, including cleaning appliance maker ILIFE, e-mobility brand ENGWE, 3D printing firm ANYCUBIC, and AI hardware specialist GMKtec. The IFA CEO praised the move, saying that quality-focused Chinese e-commerce platforms can help brands tap into vital global markets.

On September 4, the first day of IFA, representatives from 31 Chinese brands gathered at the AliExpress booth for a group photo marking their collective push into overseas markets. "AliExpress aims to become a partner for Chinese brands going global," said Yanzhi, head of the platform's Brand+ initiative, in an interview. The goal is to send a clear signal: Chinese cross-border e-commerce is no longer just a sales channel, but a comprehensive infrastructure deeply involved in brand growth, helping Chinese companies move from merely selling products to being remembered by consumers.

In the past, Chinese brands expanding abroad typically followed a sales-driven approach: develop the product, list it on a platform, purchase traffic, and fulfill orders. But today at IFA, more Chinese brands are talking about branding. They want to be remembered by local consumers, establish a presence in Europe, and capture mindshare overseas. This shift in demand is pushing e-commerce platforms to evolve and differentiate their roles.

After tax reform, low-cost models are getting expensive. The transition from "selling goods" to "building brands" is happening in Europe at a pivotal moment. Starting July 1 this year, the European Union lifted the tariff exemption for low-value imports under €150 and introduced a provisional €3 customs fee on such parcels. For low-priced goods, this €3 levy is substantial; a €5 product now faces an additional 60% in tariff-related costs. The EU's move comes amid a surge in low-value cross-border e-commerce parcels entering the bloc. According to EU data, nearly 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce parcels are expected to enter the EU in 2025, making up 97% of all imported parcels, yet accounting for only about 2% of their total value. Most of these parcels originate from China, where supply chain efficiencies have long enabled e-commerce platforms and merchants to benefit from duty-free small-package growth.

With the closure of the tariff exemption, rising costs for compliance, logistics, and local fulfillment are forcing all players to reassess their European operations. AliExpress saw the risks early and launched its Brand+ initiative to support brand internationalization. Thanks to this foresight, in August, despite the tariff changes, Brand+ sales in Europe grew 97% year-over-year. AliExpress has been less affected by the tax reform than other cross-border platforms, with Brand+ being a key factor. As of August, Brand+ brands had achieved over 50% sales penetration in 11 countries, including Germany, France, and Poland, meaning half of consumer spending on AliExpress in these markets is now directed toward branded products.

At IFA this year, the nine brands brought by AliExpress are anything but low-cost commodities. Most have their own brands, product lines, and technological capabilities, with five directly involved in AI hardware. "The biggest change is the 'aura' of Chinese brands," said an AliExpress representative. In the past, Chinese companies came to IFA to showcase supply chain and OEM capabilities; this year, they are arriving with proprietary brands and AI technologies. "Conversations at the booth are not about specs and prices, but about use cases and ecosystems. As a platform in the middle, we can clearly see that the bargaining power and voice of Chinese brands are rising."

The IFA CEO welcomed the first-ever participation of a Chinese e-commerce platform with high praise: "Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, especially those focusing on quality, are very close partners for us, helping us reach nearly all important global trade markets." This endorsement reflects the decades of progress made by cross-border e-commerce and Chinese brands. Looking back, Chinese brand internationalization has evolved through three stages: first, as OEM suppliers to foreign brands, earning processing fees; second, as low-priced label products relying on cost-effectiveness to boost volume; and now, as businesses with proprietary technologies and products, aiming to be recognized abroad.

The first two stages often followed the standard path through Amazon.com, leveraging its mature consumer base, payment systems, advertising tools, and FBA logistics network. For Chinese brands entering Europe from scratch, the fastest route has been to sell through Amazon to generate orders and use its infrastructure for fulfillment. However, e-bike brand ENGWE said it chose AliExpress "not to abandon Amazon, but to walk on two legs." While major platforms remain essential as mature channels, ENGWE notes that traffic is increasingly expensive and competition is fiercer. AliExpress's Brand+ offers a different kind of partnership, with the platform involved in strategy, marketing, and local warehousing planning, functioning "like a partner in going global."

This illustrates AliExpress's differentiated approach. Established platforms provide robust e-commerce infrastructure, but brands still have to handle their own marketing, advertising, influencer outreach, and bear inventory and operational costs. The Brand+ trial offers a more streamlined approach with its "marketing + distribution" system, allowing the platform to handle on-site marketing, including rolling out 200 brand marketing IP events and sales promotions annually, while also tapping into a network of over 10,000 influencers, 500,000 affiliate site operators, and outdoor advertising resources for brand promotion. What previously required brands to build dedicated teams can now be "packaged" by the platform.

Mini-PC brand GMKtec told reporters that its European growth is "largely incremental." The brand believes AliExpress reaches a distinct user profile compared to Amazon, including early adopters sensitive to new tech products. During a major sales event in August, GMKtec's sales on AliExpress surged 272% compared to the June 618 shopping festival. In South Korea, the brand collaborated with AliExpress to use local influencer live-streaming as the primary marketing tactic, with one hit product selling over 1,000 units in a single day. To strengthen brand-building efforts, Brand+ has integrated with European local traffic ecosystems like Google, AWIN, and Idealo this year, while expanding its official warehousing in Europe. Additionally, the platform offers AI tools to brands for product selection analysis, pricing strategy, and multilingual content generation, helping small and medium-sized brands avoid the need to maintain a multinational operational team.

For Chinese companies aiming to establish themselves as "brands" overseas, Europe serves as a highly representative market. Consumers here are willing to pay higher price points but also demand excellent local fulfillment, brand recognition, after-sales service, and fast delivery times. GMKtec noted that its mini PCs average between €300 and €500, and their success on AliExpress suggests earlier assessments of the platform's users' purchasing power may have been undervalued. While brand awareness is still being built, the direction is clear.

The Four Little Dragons are diverging, with AliExpress positioning itself as a partner for brands. Previously, AliExpress, Temu, SHEIN, and TikTok Shop were often discussed together as China's cross-border e-commerce leaders. By 2026, they are pursuing distinct paths. AliExpress is clearly focusing on its strengths—building brand and channel infrastructure. Looking ahead, Chinese companies expanding abroad may still need Amazon.com, AliExpress, TikTok Shop, Temu, independent websites, or even offline retail channels simultaneously, but each platform will play a different role. Amazon.com continues to offer mature e-commerce infrastructure, driven by its vast consumer base and transaction scale, making it an unavoidable platform. The Brand+ initiative, on the other hand, aims to help Chinese brands establish brand recognition overseas while reducing associated costs.

AliExpress told reporters that the nine participating brands were selected from its Brand+ partner pool based on criteria such as category representation, technological sophistication, and proven growth in Europe, with preparations taking about two months. At the IFA booth, the group photo filled with Chinese brand representatives highlighted that everyone is a protagonist. For the first time, they appeared not as "sellers on a platform" but as independent brands united together, standing on a stage built by a Chinese e-commerce platform, projecting the voice of Chinese brands to the world. For any platform, the one that helps more Chinese brands amplify their voice globally may ultimately become the true "home field" for brand internationalization.