On April 24, the WeChat Official Account of "Walmart China" released a message saying that in order to actively respond to the call for the integration of domestic and foreign trade development, Walmart has opened a green channel for qualified foreign trade enterprises, simplified access procedures, accelerated approval efficiency, and helped related enterprises quickly explore the domestic market.
In the face of the United States' indiscriminate imposition of tariffs on China, this news soon attracted attention from Bloomberg News. The report stated that Walmart's plan, which actively responded to the Chinese government's call, aimed to "help Chinese exporters sell their goods domestically," and was also to "balance the requirement that Chinese suppliers bear part of the cost increase of tariff hikes."
On March 11, relevant departments of the Ministry of Commerce of China held talks with Walmart regarding Walmart's request for large price reductions from Chinese suppliers. An expert pointed out that Walmart's actions might violate commercial contracts and disrupt normal market trading order.
"If these circumstances are true, Walmart's behavior is not conducive to its business development in the Chinese market," wrote "Yuyuan Tan Tian" under the jurisdiction of the Central Radio and Television Corporation in an article.
Huang Kai (a pseudonym), a non-standard category supplier for Walmart, previously told the Observer Network, "Making suppliers and consumers bear the cost of the U.S.'s tariff policy against China is immoral. Walmart cannot completely shirk responsibility. Such practices will surely be resisted and are unfeasible."
Sam's Club is Walmart's high-end membership store. On April 15, Sam's Club's first store in Anhui Province opened in Hefei. WeChat Official Account "Walmart China".
Bloomberg reported that these situations were of great significance to Walmart. It was reported that as of last year, Walmart had 336 stores in China, and in the most recent quarter, Walmart's net sales in the Chinese market increased by 28%.
Recently, the Ministry of Commerce of China organized discussions with relevant industry associations, large supermarkets, and circulation enterprises to study how to better leverage their respective advantages to help foreign trade enterprises expand domestic sales channels. At the same time, through policies promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade, foreign trade enterprises are helped to explore the domestic market.
Jingdong has announced the launch of a 200 billion yuan support plan for export-to-domestic-sales; Yonghui Superstores also proposed that for suppliers with inventory buildup due to export obstructions, they would open a "green channel" to complete ultra-fast listings within 15 days.
The "reciprocal tariff" policy thrown out by U.S. President Trump severely disrupted global trade. Recently, American citizens have rushed to buy electronic products and home appliances, and China is the main exporter of these goods.
On April 21, Trump met with major retailers including Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Target at the White House. It was reported that the purpose of this meeting was to discuss how to alleviate the destructive impact of the current comprehensive tariff policy on the global supply chain and the unease among American consumers about comprehensive tariffs.
On the 23rd, Axios News Network reported that CEOs of retail giants such as Walmart privately warned Trump on the 21st, stating that his tariff and trade policies could disrupt supply chains, raise prices, and leave American shelves empty.
This article is an exclusive article of the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497223767048798783/
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