eBay's CEO Meg Whitman has been touring Asia this month. On Thursday, she gave a presentation at Beijing University in China, where she said she is delighted with the progress of Chinese e-commerce and EachNet, the Chinese online marketplace owned by eBay.

"China is becoming a leading player in global e-commerce, and Chinese consumers are quickly learning how to make online trading work for them," said Whitman. "We're very pleased with the growth of EachNet and plan to further invest in its development. We're committed to helping make e-commerce successful in China."

eBay said EachNet has been innovating in the areas of seller tools, customer support and online safety to continue to improve the level of e-commerce in China, but that the companies' main focus has been on strengthening the online community of buyers and sellers. At the end of 2003, EachNet had 4.3 million registered users in China who traded items worth a total of $124 million last year.

On Tuesday, Whitman told reporters in Hong Kong, "Over the next 10 to 15 years China is going to be an explosive area."

Last week, Whitman was in Korea. eBay ceded the Japanese auction market to Yahoo in 2002.