Hisense, a Chinese multinational appliance and electronics manufacturer based in Qingdao, and AliExpress, Alibaba's business-to-customer site catered to overseas markets, signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly explore the overseas online retail market during an online meeting on May 20.

Chinese smart TV sets have unexpectedly become a hot seller in Europe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to statistics from AliExpress, its overseas sales of smart televisions increased by 100 times year-on-year, while sales in the Russian market increased by 220 times year-on-year.

Hisense and AliExpress sign a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly explore the overseas online retail market on May 20. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

Strong demand for televisions in overseas markets has given confidence to Chinese household appliance brands in the face of the unexpected challenges brought by the pandemic.

"Before the epidemic outbreak, overseas sales of home appliance companies including Hisense were mainly in physical stores. Affected by the epidemic, a large number of retail stores were closed, but consumers' demand remained, which provided us with an opportunity to develop overseas e-commerce and improve our online operation capacity," said Liu Xin, vice chairman of Hisense International Marketing.

Customers select TV products of Hisense Group. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

During the promotion of AliExpress's 10th anniversary this year, Hisense's sales of large TV sets of 50 inches or more increased by 1,066 percent month-on-month, Liu said.

Liu revealed that Hisense's partnership with AliExpress has already been launched in Russia, France and Spain.

"This is just the start. We look forward to reaching to more consumers around the world through AliExpress."

Hisense has a global business presence in more than 160 countries and regions. In 2019, its overseas revenue reached 46.1 billion yuan ($5.86 billion), up 21.1 percent year-on-year.