Deals on 32 projects with a total value of over 155.8 billion yuan ($21.89 billion) were reached by leading enterprises at the just-concluded second Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) held in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, according to the provincial department of commerce.

The expo, with the tagline "Digital Trade, Global Access," ran from Nov 23 to 27 and attracted 68 international organizations and business associations, as well as over 800 enterprises.

The five-day expo, which is the first national digital trade fair backed by the central government, serves as a forum for presenting new digital technologies and products, as well as debating new industry standards, trends, markets and cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Digital Trade Think Tank was officially established at the second Global Digital Trade Expo. The think tank is an intellectual support institution for promoting academic and theoretical exploration, policy and institutional research, as well as international cooperation and innovative practices in global digital trade.

Han Jie, director of the department of commerce of Zhejiang province, and David Blair, vice-president of Center for China and Globalization, unveil the official plaque of the Digital Trade Think Tank on Nov 23, 2023. (Photo provided to ezhejiang.gov.cn)

The GDTE Digital Trade Think Tank will provide research support and services to the Global Digital Trade Expo, focusing on areas such as policy research, institutional innovation, investment promotion, talent recruitment, branding activities, the release of official reports, and international cooperation in digital trade.

The first batch of GDTE Digital Trade Think Tank experts conducted in-depth discussions at the Digital Trade Roundtable on topics such as "New Rules and Standards for Global Digital Trade", "New Trends in Digital Financial Services", "Cross border Data Flow and Digital Security Governance", and "Digital Credit Construction for Products and Services".

Important topics such as cross-border data flow, digital finance and digital security governance were also discussed during the five-day event.

As a global consensus forms on trends in digitalization, digital trade has also garnered attention as a new engine for global economic growth.

The global trading system is facing tremendous pressure and must adapt to new developments in the world economy, where digitization has become a powerful engine for trade. China plays a crucial role in helping address such pressure, said Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, at the expo.

Source: Tide News

Editor: Tan Qikuan