China's first electronic commerce development plan, in the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" for electronic commerce development, has been officially published by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Information Office of the State Council.

The "plan" puts emphasis on the development of China's electronic commerce during the "Eleventh Five-Year" period. This entails popularizing and deepening applications of electronic commerce, improving the operational efficiency and quality of the national economy, vigorously developing electronic commerce services, and forming a new growth point for the development of the national economy.

This "plan" defines the overall goal for the development of China's electronic commerce during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period: by 2010, the coordinated development pattern of the electronic commerce development's environment, support systems, technical services, promotion and application will all have basically been formed. The electronic commerce services will become an important emerging industry. The level of electronic commerce applications in the all fields of national economic and social development will increase by a large margin and will produce noteworthy results.

The "plan" also puts forward specific objectives for the development of China's electronic commerce in areas of improving electronic commerce applications, nurturing the electronic commerce service system, improving the capacity for innovation, and perfecting the supporting environment.