Expo in Hangzhou spurs global digital trade growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- The recently concluded first Global Digital Trade Expo held from Dec 11-14 in Hangzhou has elevated the pivotal role of the city, which is the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, to spur global digital trade growth.

In a statement today, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce said the global professional expo attracted more than 800 leading enterprises from home and abroad, and was attended by seven international organisations and politicians, scholars and businessmen from over 50 countries, and 32 representatives from embassies in China and consulates general in Shanghai.

The bureau said the expo had achieved results, with 89 projects inked during the event.

“Their total investment reached roughly 110 billion yuan (100 yuan=RM63.49), mainly covering ‘Internet +’, new materials, life and health.

“In addition, 37 high-quality development projects of Hangzhou digital free trade zone were signed at the event, with a total investment of 38.2 billion yuan.

“These high-quality projects will continue to promote Hangzhou to become a source of new technologies, new industries and new business forms of global digital trade,” it said.

The bureau said that building on the three national platforms of the pilot zone of free trade, cross-border e-commerce and service trade, the city of Hangzhou has made great efforts to promote the establishment of a digital trade development system in recent years.

“Hangzhou International Digital Trading Centre was also officially inaugurated during the expo, which will further promote the transformation of data resources into production factors, with the centre having established partnerships with 215 enterprises to date,” it said.

It said that by 2025, Hangzhou seeks to achieve revenue of over two trillion yuan in core industrial enterprises of the digital economy, adding that the digital trade volume might reach 500 billion yuan, and cross-border renminbi settlement would hit a trillion yuan.

“In the next three years, Hangzhou will further play the role of the main force in building Zhejiang into a global digital trade centre, and make every effort to build a digital free trade zone,” a senior official of the bureau said.

Moving forward, Hangzhou will focus on building a digital industry cluster, a digital financial innovation area, a digital logistics pilot zone and a digital regulatory benchmark.

-- BERNAMA