Buzz on the streets keeps the e-commerce business running
Growing numbers of motorised tricycle express delivery boys is a sign that logistics industry has to keep pace with e-commerce
Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group, is the face of China’s exploding e-commerce industry. But beneath the glittering surface of rock-star initial public offerings on Wall Street is a group of young Chinese, mostly men, whose work is essential to the industry’s success.
They are the faceless foot soldiers in the battle for greater domestic consumption, delivering packages and collecting economic growth; they are China’s army of motorised tricycle express delivery boys. They buzz about the nation’s cities weaving in and out of traffic. Their growing numbers are a cause for reflection, a sign that e-commerce is the future.
It is not just Ma, but also President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and half of Wall Street who are banking on Chinese e-commerce success. China needs to transform its economic structure, shifting from an economy built on exports and investment to one driven by domestic consumption. This shift has even been given an official phrase: “the new normal”.