China's secondhand economy is expanding rapidly as Chinese consumers are increasingly accepting and seeking used products. 

Data shows that in 2017, the scale of the sector reached 70 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of over 30 percent year on year. And the market cap is expected to reach 140 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.

Daniel Zipser, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, believes that technology will facilitate the secondhand market, especially in luxury transactions, in the future.

"I'm passionate about the opportunities in China's secondhand market," Zipser said, adding that the pre-owned auto market is already mature in China.

And more recently, beyond cars, Zipser also witnessed that greater opening up actually encourages people to buy consumer goods and even luxury goods. Based on his observation, buying second-hand luxury products in China has just begun to spring up, but is already fueling growth and driving consumption.

From his perspective, "the combination of online with offline" in the market is critical. He elaborated with an example: "You see secondhand luxury stores emerging in the first-tier cities, where the online promotion helps to attract the customers and build up the confidence about products."

His opinion was supported by McKinsey's research. A report from the consultancy showed that online sales of personal luxury goods, including accessories, apparel, beauty products and perfume, footwear, jewelry, watches, and leather goods, account for eight percent of the whole luxury market. That's up about five-fold from 2009. And the consultancy also expects online luxury sales to more than triple by 2025, with nearly one-fifth of personal luxury sales taking place online.

However, Zipser acknowledged that the scale remains small in China, and said market participants should consider how to generate more confidence among potential consumers. He remarked that in the long term technology development will help boost the secondhand market. "You will see that there is a larger growth in the mid- to long-term," he stressed.