Amazon launches first Shenzhen hub for Chinese sellers

Amazon has launched its first Global Warehousing and Distribution center in Shenzhen for Chinese merchants selling to US customers.

The move aims to retain sellers amid rising competition from Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop.

The hub handles local storage, customs clearance, cross-border shipping, and inventory transfers in one model.

Amazon said it could cut storage costs by up to 45% versus keeping stock in US warehouses.

The company plans to bring the model to the Yangtze River Delta and expand distribution to Europe and Japan.

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Amazon’s move lands as Chinese rival Temu reached parity with Amazon in cross-border ecommerce sales in 2025, taking a 24% market share, up from 1% in 2022, based on an International Post Corp. survey 1.
U.S. shopping habits shifted too. The share of shoppers who said they started product searches on Amazon fell by nine percentage points versus two years earlier, per a Jungle Scout survey cited by Nikkei Asia 2.
App attention also tilted toward Temu. U.S. consumers spent 22 minutes a day on Temu versus 11 minutes on Amazon in 2023, according to Global Wireless Solutions as cited by Nikkei Asia 2.

Warehousing plans now sit alongside shifting trade rules, including the U.S. ending the de minimis rule that had allowed duty-free, simpler customs clearance for low-value shipments. The change pushed Chinese online retailers to rethink supply-chain strategies and lifted logistics costs 1.
Amazon has signed new contracts with Chinese merchants since summer 2024. The deals let low-priced goods ship straight to U.S. consumers, a step expected to lower costs, according to The Information and other U.S. media cited by Nikkei Asia 2.
Temu has courted Amazon sellers to expand its local seller base and build U.S.-warehouse inventory. U.S.-warehouse shipments make up about 20% of Temu’s U.S. gross merchandise volume (GMV), or the total value of goods sold, per The Information as cited by EMARKETER 3.