About Landed Math

We read China's trade policy in the original, then translate it into the only language that matters to a buyer: landed cost per unit.

What this site does

China publishes an enormous amount about its own trade — tariff schedules, customs bulletins, platform rule changes, industrial statistics. Almost all of it is written for a domestic audience, in language built for policy readers rather than buyers.

Landed Math is the translation layer. We take the primary documents, find the numbers that matter, and work out what they cost on a per-unit and per-container basis — for the person placing the order, not the person writing the press release.

Who this is for

  • Platform sellers. Amazon, Temu, TikTok Shop and D2C operators in the US and EU who need to know what a rule change does to their margin this quarter. Start with Platforms and Trade Policy.
  • Importers and buyers in emerging markets. Businesses across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America sourcing from China — where the practical questions rarely get answered in English, and almost never with numbers attached. Start with Sourcing & Suppliers and Logistics & Customs.

The two audiences want different things from the same policy. We write for both, and we say which one a piece is for.

Who is behind this

V — China Supply Chain Analyst · Shenzhen. Years on the sourcing and platform side of cross-border commerce: Amazon FBA, TikTok Shop and Temu, in consumer electronics and home goods. Close enough to the factory floor to know when a number in a bulletin will not survive contact with a real quote.

How the analysis is produced

  • Numbers first. Every article carries at least five precise figures with a value, unit, date and named official source.
  • Landed-cost math. Policy news is only useful once it is converted into FOB price × duty rate × container volume.
  • A clear position. "Most sellers assume X. The math says Y. Do Z." No both-sides hedging.
  • Named sources only. Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, National Bureau of Statistics, Xinhua, CCTV — plus the destination market's own customs authority. No links farmed from other blogs.

What this site is not

  • Not a mouthpiece. We are not affiliated with, funded by, or speaking for any government, chamber or trade body. We explain Chinese policy because understanding it is the whole job — not because we are promoting it.
  • Not a news aggregator — no rewriting somebody else's story.
  • Not financial or legal advice.
  • Not ad-funded at the expense of the reader: no tracking pixels, no sponsored posts pretending to be analysis.

Corrections

If a figure is wrong, it gets corrected and the correction is noted at the foot of the article. Email hello@landedmath.com.