Understanding what customers want is crucial in this market, so Gurr is improving his Mandarin. Yet, he does not believe there is a great deal of difference between online shoppers here and those in Western countries.

"They care about getting the products they want at fair prices," he said. "They are all looking for a good shopping experience. Those things don't really change."

As for the future, Gurr does not see Amazon China becoming a totally localized version of the parent company here.

"I think for our organization, if you launch a purely local version, you can move fast, but you will throw away your advantages in scale and technology," he said. "It would be a mistake for us to run a completely isolated business in China."

BIO

Doug Gurr

President of Amazon China

Born: Leeds, England, United Kingdom

Education

1983-1986: Bachelor degree in mathematics from University of Cambridge, England, UK

1986-1987: Master degree in mathematics from University of Cambridge, England, UK

1987-1990: PhD in Theoretical computing, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Career

September 2014 to present: President of Amazon China

December 2011-August 2014: Vice-president of hardlines at Amazon.co.uk, the company's UK division

2006-December 2011: Senior executive and board member at Wal-Mart Stores Inc's UK operation, Asda Stores Ltd

April 2001-July 2006: CEO and founder of Internet startup Blueheath

1995-2001: Partner with McKinsey & Co, a multinational management consulting firm in the US

Source: Doug's linkedin profile