Online Transactions and Services Explode in China
The current SARS crisis in China has forced the people
and government's to re-evaluate their attitude to online
transactions and services. One result: Chinese are far
more willing to use the Internet as a replacement for
face-to-face transactions and meetings.
Traditionally, Chinese have been somewhat reluctant to
use the Internet as a replacement for purchasing products
and services online, fearing that they might get cheated
in the process. But, with the SARS crisis, the dangers
of meeting face-to-face have outweighed the fears of getting
cheated on the Internet.
Eachnet.com is one of China's leading online consumer-to-consumer
auction venues. Before March, the number of daily online
transactions was approximately 30,000. In the past two
weeks, its daily average has risen to more than 40,000.
The volume of daily transactions has gone up from RMB1.8
million (US$220,000) to more than RMB2.3 million (US$280,000)
in the past two weeks.
Importers purchasing products manufactured in China for
their local markets have also turned to international
online negotiations and marketplaces as an alternative
to traveling to China. For the first time, the Canton
Trade Show, held twice annually in the southern city of
Guangzhou, has provided online transaction centers so
that buyers do not need to travel to China to make their
orders.
The demand for online services has extended also to the
field of education. The Beijing Education Committee, which
is run by the Chinese government, has offered online classes
and classrooms for the first time. The Chinese National
Education Network, long in the planning process, is also
up and functioning. Several leading education institutions,
such as the Beijing School of Foreign Languages, have
also launched online classes.
Many Chinese education experts believe that these services
will lead the way in pushing education into other parts
of China which are not well covered by the country's education
network.
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