Although both traditional e-commerce and Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC) involve the sale of imported goods via online platforms (which often are the same platforms), there is a fundamental difference between the two:

• Traditional e-commerce is limited to goods imported through the general trade model. In this context, traditional e-commerce serves as just one of the available sales channels, alongside offline stores, B2B sales, and others.
• CBEC applies exclusively to goods imported via the CBEC model. It is the sole permitted sales channel for these products, and selling them offline is prohibited (although it is possible to showcase products in offline venue, as long as the sale happens online via CBEC platforms – see FAQ “Can I sell offline a product exported to China via CBEC?”).

Therefore, it can be said that CBEC is a very specific area within the broader e-commerce sphere.