Digitalization level in China's business sectors continues to improve: MOC

BEIJING -- The Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that the digitalization level in China's business sectors has continued to improve this year.

According to the MOC, China's e-commerce activities since the beginning of the year have played a positive role in promoting consumption recovery and expanding international economic and trade cooperation.

In the first five months, online retail sales totaled 5.77 trillion yuan ($810.11 billion), representing an increase of 12.4 percent from a year earlier, the MOC said, noting that promotional activities on the online e-commerce platforms such as "618" shopping festival powered the retail sales growth.

The country has also signed new memorandums of e-commerce cooperation with Serbia and Bahrain, expanding the number of Silk Road E-commerce partner countries to 32, according to the ministry.

In the first quarter of 2024, the proportion of cross-border e-commerce in total platforms of exports increased to 7.8 percent. Cross-border e-commerce activities contributed more than 1 percentage point to export growth in the first three months, the ministry said.