Digital trade set to take wing

China has issued a guideline to expand digital trade as it moves to reform and innovatively develop the sector.

The country expects the share of digitally delivered services trade in overall services trade to exceed 45 percent by 2029 and 50 percent by 2035, according to the guideline.

The guideline stated that by 2035, an orderly, secure and efficient digital trade governance system will be established on all fronts, with comprehensive improvements seen in institutional opening-up.

Efforts will be made to ease market access and encourage foreign investment in the digital sector, expand the opening-up of telecommunications, internet and culture-related sectors in an orderly manner, as well as bolster and regulate the cross-border flow of data, it added.

To improve the digital trade governance system, China will actively participate in the formulation of international rules for digital trade, and help create an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for digital development, said the guideline.

Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, said China has become one of the most dynamic economies in digital trade around the world, which has injected new momentum into domestic economic growth and contributed significantly to global trade development.

"The opening-up of digital trade complies with the vigorous development trend of the digital economy worldwide, while the move to ease market access in the digital sector will attract more foreign enterprises to invest in the Chinese market, thus boosting technological innovation and industrial upgrading, and enhancing the competitiveness of China's digital trade on the global stage," Zhu said.

According to a report released by the International Trade Centre and the organizing committee of the Global Digital Trade Expo, the fast expansion of digital trade underscores its increasing importance in the global economy and reflects an ongoing structural shift toward digitalization in international commerce.

The report said the total value of global digital trade rose from $4.59 trillion in 2020 to $7.23 trillion in 2024, with the average annual growth rate reaching 12.1 percent. This growth significantly outpaced that of total global trade, which grew at an average annual rate of 9.7 percent over the same period.

Digitally delivered services, and digitally ordered goods and services have jointly driven growth in digital trade, the report said, adding that the former accounted for the larger share, rising from $3.21 trillion in 2020 to $4.64 trillion in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 9.6 percent. The European Union, China and the United States ranked as the top three in terms of digitally ordered trade exports.

AI has emerged as a transformative force in digital trade, reshaping infrastructure, services and applications, the report said. Advances in large model architectures, including the DeepSeek open-source ecosystem, have lowered barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises and spurred innovation across healthcare, education, finance and cross-border data markets.

Zhang Zhouping, an independent analyst who has been tracking the cross-border e-commerce sector for more than a decade, said the shift toward digital platforms, e-commerce, AI and data-driven trade opens new frontiers for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, which now have the tools to engage with international markets.

AI has given rise to a wide range of emerging service formats and cross-border transaction scenarios, said Zhou Wenyu, an assistant professor of the International Business School at Zhejiang University, adding that cross-border e-commerce has greatly promoted the deep integration and efficient coordination of global industrial and supply chains.

Chinese cross-border online marketplaces are stepping up efforts to develop digital trade and help Chinese manufacturers and brands expand their presence in overseas markets.

For instance, fast-fashion online retailer Shein has announced plans to extend its outreach to industrial belts in 500 cities in China. It hopes to facilitate the digital upgrade of more industrial chains, thereby helping them achieve on-demand supply in terms of production.

The company is accelerating steps to build a supply chain project in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, covering operations, warehousing, stocking, order-picking, distribution, logistics and delivery.

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said cross-border e-commerce has become an important driving force for bolstering the steady growth of foreign trade, as well as promoting the transformation and upgrading of the traditional manufacturing sector.

By constantly monitoring market changes and collecting real-time feedback from consumers, these platforms can make accurate predictions, while the flexible supply chain model is conducive to upgrading an entire industrial chain, ranging from design and development to production, warehousing and logistics.