HELSINKI, Dec. 31, 2025 (Xinhua) – Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported in a report on Wednesday that a group of Finnish e-commerce professionals who recently visited China expressed their astonishment at the development, speed and depth of digital integration of the e-commerce system in the country.
The trip, which took place last November, was organized by the Finnish Digital Commerce Organization and the Finnish Business Organization (Business Finland), according to the newspaper.
“E-commerce in China is different from the traditional Finnish and European model of searching for products and placing orders,” Merva Sandström, director of digital commerce at the Finnish Digital Commerce Organization, told the newspaper, explaining that it focuses on social media and often combines shopping, payment and delivery into a single platform-based experience, achieving significant efficiency gains.
Finnish visitors were also impressed by the widespread use of artificial intelligence across e-commerce operations in China. Vili Simula, CEO of the Finnish Digital Commerce Organization, said that during his visit to the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, he witnessed the presentation of five or six different artificial intelligence solutions to the group.
Simula added, “In many meetings, we expected that artificial intelligence would come in. But in China, it was completely taken for granted. Terms such as digital services and smart services were already being used.”
The newspaper pointed out that artificial intelligence is routinely applied in China in areas such as product recommendations, logistics and payments, and is treated as a basic capability and not something new.
Another hallmark of e-commerce in China is speed, which impressed Sandstrom and Simula. The newspaper pointed out that express delivery services are widespread, with delivery within 30 minutes becoming an increasingly normal habit in some places, with the support of robots and drones.
Simula noted that China is the largest online retail market in the world, adding that many Finnish companies are keen to enter the vast Chinese market.
