TEMU, the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform owned by PDD Holdings, has suffered its first major setback since launching in 2022 after Vietnam banned its operations, reports Caixin.

Citing regulatory non-compliance two months after it entered the market, Temu was ordered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to stop using the Vietnamese language on its website and app, to notify customers that its e-commerce registration was under review.

It also demanded a halt to all marketing activities in the country, according to a report by Vietnam News Agency.

The suspension is Temu's first since expanding into more than 80 countries around the world.

Shein, another Chinese e-commerce giant which started operating in Vietnam two years ago, also temporarily disabled its Vietnamese-language site, though Vietnamese customers can still shop through its international website.

Unlike Temu's platform-based model, Shein follows a direct-to-consumer strategy in Vietnam, avoiding similar regulatory issues.