The Latest Generation of SEZs: Consumer-Oriented Unilateralism in China’s E-Commerce Trade

World Trade Organization multilateralism is driven by manufacturers. However, in China, Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import has spurred a new, consumer-oriented trade unilateralism. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import prospers within China’s National Cross-Border E-commerce Pilot Cities, which are special economic zones aimed at using unilateral trade liberalization to meet consumers’ growing demands for high-quality foreign products. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import enhances consumer benefits beyond reducing customer formalities and tax rates and lowering product prices. It re-conceptualizes consumer protection by treating consumers as diverse individuals rather than as a homothetic group. It also empowers consumers by making them ‘importers’ to minimize behind-the-border trade barriers. Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import warrants a rethinking of World Trade Organization multilateralism from its initial focus on corporations and capital owners to a revised focus on consumers.