(Yicai) March 25 -- Chinese foreign sellers continue increasing their investment in the United States to optimize supply chains and strengthen brand recognition to reduce the impact of higher tariffs, according to several industry insiders.

"Even though external conditions are not stable, what we have seen is that almost all merchants have hiked their US investments, including building more warehouses, upgrading human resources, and management intelligentization," Pan Zhehu, general manager of cross-border e-commerce platform eBay's trade division in eastern China, told Yicai.

Since last month, US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on trading partners worldwide, including raising levies on all imports from China by 20 percent and removing tariff exemptions for small parcels worth less than USD800.

Chinese sellers' time and economic costs have increased due to the changes in tariff policies, but the US is irreplaceable in developing overseas markets, Pan pointed out.

Some sellers see the US tariffs as an opportunity to strengthen their competitiveness by improving supply chain efficiency, Pang Tao, GM of sales and category management at eBay China, said to Yicai. "US' demand for China-made products has not changed, and China is still the most efficient supplier in the world," he added.

In addition to optimizing the supply chain, building brand advantage is also one of the strategies Chinese manufacturers use to deal with the new tariffs.

Homogeneous products face challenges with tariff hikes, but for goods with brand recognition, price increases can outweigh that in tariffs with little impact on sales, Tu Jun, founder of car exterior accessories maker Xique Automobile Technology, told Yicai.

Chinese merchants used to attract customers by lowering prices, but now they can offer diversified and personalized products that make buyers willing to pay more due to the increased tariffs, Tu pointed out. This is thanks to the support of China's complete supply chain and reflects the advantages of the country's manufacturing sector, Tu added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev