Chinese e-commerce giants rush to Europe as Trump upends trade

[LONDON] Some of China’s biggest e-commerce and logistics companies, such as JD.com, are making a beeline to Europe’s warehouses once again, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape manufacturers’ supply chains and markets.

In the UK, for instance, Chinese firms have taken up more than two million square feet of space this year, potentially on track to beat the 2.3 million square feet uptake at the height of the pandemic in 2021, according to data from CoStar. A similar phenomenon is playing out across continental Europe, with landlords noticing an increase in inquiries from Chinese groups.

“Europe is the last major market where Chinese firms can expand at speed, making them an increasingly important force in shaping the region’s logistics landscape,” said Claire Williams, head of UK and European industrial research at Knight Frank in London. This is set to continue due to trade policy shifts, she added.

Though the world’s two largest economies have yet to reach a deal over tariffs, manufacturers in China have been seeking alternative markets for their goods as they brace for higher US tariffs. That is prompting logistics firms to expand their footprint in Europe, marking the second wave of a warehouse boom that started in the continent during the pandemic, which had upended supply chains and prompted nearshoring.

Beijing-based JD.com made up the bulk in the UK, leasing 900,000 square feet of space across the country so far this year. This comes amid a big push into Britain, as the distributor earlier this year launched Joybuy, an e-commerce platform selling discounted food, clothing and groceries. The company has also secured space in Milton Keynes and has a distribution centre in Coventry.

Super Smart Service, part of the Zong Teng Group, Top Cloud Logistics and Daals, a Chinese-owned furniture retailer, have also taken up space.

“Another deal or two, and 2025 will be the strongest year in recent history, or probably ever, for warehouse acquisitions by Chinese firms” in the UK, said Grant Lonsdale, senior director of market analytics at CoStar.

Still, the logistics vacancy rate in the UK remains at its highest level since 2011 because of a supply glut following a pandemic-fuelled boom in speculative development that added 9.3 million square feet in 2024, according to Savills research.

GLP, a logistics real estate investor and developer whose non-Chinese business is now owned by Ares Management, has leased nearly 400,000 square metres to Chinese e-commerce companies across the UK, Germany, Poland and Italy over the past five years. The current trade scenario has made Europe an even more competitive destination, GLP said earlier this year.

It is not just Chinese logistics firms that are expanding their footprint in Europe. Even manufacturers are nearshoring their supply chains to skirt European tariffs after facing higher barriers to get into the US.

Poland is a favourite for fashion distributor Shein Group, which operates major distribution hubs in the Wroclaw area in the western part of the country. With the tariff uncertainty out of the way after the US reached an agreement to levy a 10 per cent tariff on most British goods, relatively lower than for other countries, the UK could turn out to be attractive as well.

Besides from auto suppliers and ecommerce players, CTP, Europe’s largest publicly traded industrial property developer, is seeing increasing demand from Chinese makers of computers and furnitures as well.

“All Chinese companies who like to sell in Europe are actually interested in being in Europe,” said Remon Vos, founder and chief executive of CTP, in an earnings call last month. He attributed their desire to geopolitical shocks such as the brief 2021 closing of the Suez Canal and the global pandemic.

Asian manufacturing tenants typically account for just over 10 per cent of CTP’s leasing activity. However, they accounted for 20 per cent of activity in the 18 months to June 2025. Half of these Asian occupiers are Chinese, said Maarten Otte, head of investor relations and capital markets at CTP. He added that they first saw rising interest from Chinese occupiers “four or five years ago”, and that this demand had accelerated in the last two years.

“They are looking at capturing market share,” said Michael Bowens, head of industrial and logistics for Apac at CBRE. “They are very quick to act.” BLOOMBERG