Chinese businesses reach overseas consumers through Amazon

Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York, January 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

HANGZHOU - More Chinese merchants will soon be able to sell their goods outside China through Amazon's online marketplace.

Amazon signed a deal on Friday with a cross-border e-commerce pilot zone in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, to let traders use its site to sell to its 285 million active paying customers worldwide.

Amazon's global logistic network will deliver goods from China to 185 countries and regions.

Cross-border sales account for nearly one fourth of total revenue from third party merchants in Amazon's global marketplaces. The number of Chinese traders there doubled in Q1 from a year ago.

Zhejiang province is looking to cross-border e-commerce to shore up trade, which shed 0.9 percent in the first four months. Exports edged up only 0.3 in the same period. E-commerce has offset much of the slump in traditional exports.