Chinese goods cool Aussie inflation

E-commerce platforms Taobao and JD.com enter Australian market, boosting competition

- STELLA QIU

As businesses globally fret about sky-high US tariffs reviving rampant inflation, in Australia, the redirection of cheap Chinese goods is expected to provide relief for consumers and policymakers worried about stubborn cost pressures.

Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com are the latest Chinese e-commerce platforms to enter the Australian market, seeking to tap into the bargain-starved country’s appetite for online deals.

The expected flood of cheap goods from China, on top of a recent slowdown in inflation, is among several reasons the central bank felt confident enough to cut interest rates this week.

In an economy like Australia’s that manufactures very few finished products domestically, Taobao is finding new markets outside of its core Chinese-speaking consumer base.

"I don’t shop a lot, but if I do buy something, I will buy it online... If I can get it cheaper through Taobao, 100% I'll buy from them," said Jodi Clarke, a therapist in Melbourne, whose first purchase on the site included three look-alike Hermes Kelly bags for A$129 ($83.24).

China's factories are rushing to reach more new markets overseas as the domestic economy slows, with US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs making it much more difficult to access the US, the world’s largest consumer market.

Frederic Neumann, chief Asian economist and co-head of global research at HSBC, said the expansion of Chinese e-commerce platforms overseas will intensify disinflation pressures, especially for consumer goods.