Cross-border e-commerce deals increase 80.6%

Cross-border e-commerce trade rose 80.6 percent year-on-year in China to 90.24 billion yuan ($14.33 billion) in 2017, top officials said on Friday.

Speaking at the First Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Conference, Yu Guangzhou, the minister of the General Administration of Customs, said China's cross-border e-commerce trade has grown at an average annual rate of over 50 percent in the past three years.

The two-day conference, jointly organized by GAC and the World Customs Organization, will conclude on Saturday.

China shipped goods worth 33.65 billion yuan to global markets in 2017 via cross-border e-commerce, up 41.3 percent year-on-year, while it imported 56.59 billion yuan worth of products from overseas markets, up 116.4 percent.

The Customs department cleared 660 million manifests for imports and exports through cross-border e-commerce activities last year.

The conference is expected to deliver a draft WCO framework, discuss key issues and principles covering trade convenience, security, taxation, risk prevention and control, the application of the latest technologies and Customs cooperation, as well as develop new growth points in countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative through diversified e-commerce activities."

The conference is set to be held every two years to facilitate global Customs cooperation in the e-commerce trade.

It brought together over 1,000 representatives from Customs authorities, other government agencies, e-commerce operators, international organizations, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, consumers and academia from various countries and regions.

Yi Xiaozhun, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, said China has an important role to play in the global economy. The country imported over $130 billion worth of products through cross-border e-commerce in the first half of 2017. It provided promising opportunities for businesses around the world.

"China is already a leader in e-commerce in many ways, especially in online payment that enables consumers in big cities to pay with mobile phones. Everything from supermarket shopping to utilities and taxi fares can be paid via an e-wallet," he said.