1688.com vs Made-in-China.com
1688.com holds the stronger position because it operates directly within Alibaba's ecosystem, while Made-in-China.com faces heavier direct pressure from Alibaba.com and 1688.com, plus rising AI tools like Alibaba's Incommerce11 that could bypass its sourcing workflow, assessed July 2026.
1688.com
1688.com is Alibaba's domestic Chinese B2B wholesale marketplace connecting factories to buyers
Made-in-China.com
B2B sourcing marketplace connecting global buyers to Chinese manufacturers, run by Focus Technology
Dimension by dimension
| Dimension | 1688.com | Made-in-China.com |
|---|---|---|
| Staying power of the core product | Rated hard to displace, backed by Alibaba's scale and over 1 million paying members with no visible customer loss. | Rated losing its protection, facing direct competition from Alibaba's own platforms for the same buyers. |
| Exposure to AI absorbing the product | AI is unlikely to absorb its core wholesale marketplace function. | AI could partly absorb its sourcing and RFQ workflow, especially as Alibaba's Incommerce11 AI agent rolls out. |
| How easily a giant could copy them | Blocked, since it is already owned and operated by Alibaba, the giant in this space. | Likely, since Alibaba.com and 1688.com already offer overlapping services at greater scale. |
| Pressure from rivals | Faces limited direct rival pressure, with no meaningful customer loss visible in the evidence, assessed July 2026. | Faces heavier direct pressure than 1688.com, with Alibaba.com and 1688.com named specifically as competing platforms, assessed July 2026. |
| Financial footing | Parent Alibaba Group posted RMB996.3bn in FY2025 revenue and RMB126bn in net income, up 77% year over year. | Focus Technology posted CNY1.921bn in FY2025 revenue, up 15.1%, with net profit around CNY504-505 million, up 11.6%. |
| Scale and backing | Operates as part of Alibaba Group, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. | Operates as a standalone business under Focus Technology, much smaller in scale than Alibaba. |
Questions people ask
- Is 1688.com better positioned than Made-in-China.com for the AI era?
- Yes, 1688.com is better positioned because it is owned by Alibaba and rated as unlikely to be absorbed by AI, while Made-in-China.com is only partly protected and faces competition from Alibaba's own platforms.
- Could a bigger company copy Made-in-China.com's business?
- The evidence rates this as likely for Made-in-China.com, since Alibaba's platforms already offer similar sourcing services at a much larger scale. For 1688.com, copying is blocked since it is already part of Alibaba.
- How do the financials of 1688.com and Made-in-China.com compare?
- 1688.com sits inside Alibaba Group, which reported RMB996.3bn in revenue and RMB126bn in net income for FY2025. Made-in-China.com's parent, Focus Technology, reported a much smaller CNY1.921bn in revenue and about CNY504-505 million in net profit for the same period.
- Is Made-in-China.com's sourcing workflow at risk from AI?
- Yes, the evidence notes that Alibaba's incoming Incommerce11 AI agent threatens Made-in-China.com's sourcing and RFQ workflow. 1688.com does not face this same risk since it is unlikely to be absorbed by AI.