Sotheby's unveils new Chinese mainland headquarter in Shanghai on May 18. Photo: Qi Xijia/GT

Global auction house Sotheby's on Thursday unveiled its Chinese mainland headquarters in Shanghai amid ongoing expansion in the Chinese market, offering another sign of strong confidence among foreign enterprises in the Chinese market.

Spanning an area of 2,000 square meters, the space will serve as both an office and a showroom, offering offline experiences and cultural services such as exhibitions, lectures, and workshops.

"Sotheby's Shanghai Space will become a home to a diverse collection community and lovers of culture and art, further promoting the long-term development of the art market and the local cultural collection industry," said Jean Qian, managing director of Sotheby's China, told the Global Times at the event.

The company on Thursday also launched the Buy Now service in Chinese mainland on WeChat and its official website to provide instant collection purchase service for mainland collectors amid latest efforts to cater to the younger group and digitalized market in China.

"We hope to provide a richer and more convenient collection experience for the vast number of local collectors, while injecting new vitality into the development of Sotheby's in the mainland market," Qian said.

Other western auction houses are also strengthening their presence in China, the world's second-largest art market, in order to appeal to the increasing number of collectors in the mainland. 

Christie's became the first international auction house to enter Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media and e-commerce platform, in spring 2021. They employed a localized strategy tailored to succeed in the mainland market, according to media reports.

According to the Annual Art Market Report 2022 released by Art Market Monitor of Artron and Artprice, China's art and NFT auction revenue reached $3.9 billion in 2022, making it the world's second largest art market.