Shopify has entered into a strategic partnership with JD, allowing millions of US independent brands to reach JD.com’s 550 million active customers in China.

Under the collaboration, Shopify merchants now can sell in China through JD’s streamlined channel in three to fours weeks, compared to the 12 months typically required for international brands to begin selling in the country.

The partnership will also simplify access and compliance for Chinese brands and merchants looking to reach consumers in Western markets. JD will support quality Chinese brands to set up their DTC channels through Shopify.

“We believe that the partnership will unlock the huge potential of the Chinese market for brands outside of China,” said Daniel Tan, president of JD Worldwide. “At the same time, it will increase cross-border commerce by leveraging our global supply chain ability, simplifying what has traditionally been a very complicated process.”

The collaboration is part of a larger strategic partnership between Shopify and JD that aims to help solve cross-border commerce challenges across product sourcing, selling, and logistics for merchants in the US and China.

“Bringing together two world-class commerce platforms – Shopify and JD – is a major step in solving cross-border commerce for merchants,” said Aaron Brown, VP of Shopify.

“The future of commerce is commerce everywhere – and that starts by removing barriers to entry to one of the most important e-commerce markets in the world.”

China is home to the world’s largest e-commerce market, which is estimated to be worth US$3.3 trillion by 2025, according to GlobalData. A survey from eMarketer found that more than half of all retail sales in China last year were estimated to come from e-commerce alone. Despite the huge potential, China often remained inaccessible to independent businesses and upstart entrepreneurs abroad.