Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- EBay Inc. will concentrate on customers that want to export merchandize from China and will work with local companies to expand in the market, Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said.

“What we decided to do a couple of years ago was to focus our China business on cross-border and export,” Donahoe, 49, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The Chinese domestic market is going to take several years to work its way out. Local companies have some advantage, so we’re going to partner in the domestic market in the short term.”

EBay, the most-visited U.S. e-commerce Web site, is expanding internationally after its U.S. sales slowed this year. The company announced plans in April to buy South Korean online auctioneer GMarket Inc. to expand in Asia. The region is also one of the fastest growing markets for EBay’s PayPal payment- processing unit, the company said.

EBay, based in San Jose, California, rose 33 cents to $23.76 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has gained 70 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 11, 2009 16:38 EST