Amazon has been courting Chinese sellers of goods, in an effort to better compete with low-cost online marketplaces Temu, Shein and others, by expanding its offerings of affordable products in the U.S. and elsewhere.

According to Nikkei Asia, at the end of July, Amazon held an event for online sellers in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, telling them it would support their efforts to enter the global market.

Amazon has been scaling back its consumer-oriented businesses in China. The company ended its domestic e-commerce service in China in 2019, and recently shut down its Kindle e-book service. Its business selling overseas products to Chinese consumers has failed to give it a strong presence in the country.

Recently, however, the e-commerce giant has been reevaluating China as a source of goods for selling outside the country and is cultivating sellers there.

This year, it opened new offices in the inland cities of Wuhan, Hubei province, and Zhengzhou, Henan province. They support sellers in nearby cities and surrounding areas, seeking to do new business with small and medium-size sellers such as factories in rural areas.

At an earnings briefing on August 8, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged that consumers continue to seek low-priced goods.