This week, Amazon China registered to become an “ocean freight forwarder” with the United States Federal Maritime Commission. That means Amazon, one of the largest online retailers in the world, would be able to subcontract companies to ship goods from China to the US.

Because this registration allows Amazon to sell shipment services, Reuters suggests that Amazon might be looking into providing logistics services for third-party companies.

A blog post by freight forwarding company Flexport notes it’s likely that Amazon China filed for this freight contracting registration because Chinese sellers are more enthusiastic about finding American buyers than American sellers are about finding Chinese buyers right now. In addition, American companies shipping to China wouldn’t want to share shipping data and wholesale prices with Amazon, since the company is viewed as a fierce competitor. But for Chinese companies, Amazon is less of a threat, and a freight service provided by Amazon might help them minimize costs when shipping abroad.

Of course, contracting shipments from China to the US would give Amazon an edge over competing suppliers.

"We should note that the registration with the FMC is only the very first step that Amazon has taken to become an ocean freight forwarder,” Flexport said. "It’s laying the groundwork now; actual operations may not begin for a few years."

Reuters notes that this move seems to be only part of the e-commerce giant’s logistics plan. "Amazon is already negotiating a deal to lease 20 jets to start an air-delivery service in the United States, the Seattle Times reported last year. The retailer bought truck trailers to add shipping capacity and started a program last year that uses a fleet of on-demand drivers to deliver packages.”