Riding on the momentum of yet another devised “shopping festival” in China — known as “618 shopping day,” created by JD.com, and celebrated annually on June 18 — the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has recently launched an aggressive marketing offensive in Taiwan. From widespread online advertising to influencer recruitment campaigns, the company is clearly signaling its intention to expand its footprint in the Taiwanese market.
However, beneath this marketing blitz lie deeper structural questions: What challenges is Pinduoduo actually facing, and what kind of impact might its expansion have on Taiwan’s industries and consumers?
First and foremost, this latest move by Pinduoduo is a direct response to increasing operational pressures, external and internal.
Externally, the company’s overseas platform, Temu, has been hit hard by escalating US-China trade restrictions. These include punitive tariffs on Chinese imports — reaching as high as 145 percent, and the revocation of the de minimis exemption for packages valued under US$800. These changes have substantially reduced Temu’s ability to contribute revenue and profits to its parent company.
Domestically, Pinduoduo’s long standing strategy of low-cost, high-volume sales is starting to falter. The knock-on effects of US tariffs have worsened employment conditions in China’s export manufacturing sector, while domestic consumer confidence continues to stagnate. As a result, the company’s growth in the domestic market has stalled: In the first quarter of this year, Pinduoduo’s revenue fell short of market expectations, and its net profit plummeted by 47 percent year-on-year. These pressures are now pushing the company to aggressively pursue new overseas markets in hopes of alleviating its financial strain.
Behind Pinduoduo’s expansion lies a broader systemic issue: China’s industrial overcapacity. The company represents a model that leverages ultra-low-cost goods and price-cutting strategies to undercut local manufacturing and e-commerce industries in other countries. This practice is not only economically harmful to local producers, but also culturally and environmentally detrimental.
Many of the products sold through platforms such as Pinduoduo are poorly made and designed for short-term use, fostering a disposable consumer culture driven by the logic of “just buy another one when it breaks.” This kind of consumption model runs counter to efforts to promote quality, durability and sustainability — values essential for building a responsible consumer society.
Given that Taiwan’s trade negotiations with the US, particularly regarding tariff structures, remain unresolved, this situation calls for urgent policy consideration. Whether the concern is user data security, Taiwan’s industrial resilience or the preservation of a sustainable consumer culture, Taiwan’s government must act swiftly and decisively.
Concrete measures should include revoking tax exemptions on low-value imports from China, as well as establishing legislative and regulatory frameworks to effectively monitor and manage platforms such as Pinduoduo and their affiliated apps. As the old adage goes: “Better late than never” — but only if action is taken before the damage becomes irreversible.
Roger Wu works in the service sector.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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