Cross-border e-commerce key to China's foreign trade

China will take further steps to promote the development of cross-border e-commerce — a crucial pillar of the country's foreign trade, the State Council, the country's Cabinet, said on Friday.

Highlighting its rapid growth, immense potential and catalyzing effect, the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang stressed the need to further expand the comprehensive pilot zones of cross-border e-commerce to cover more areas.

Meanwhile, efforts will be made to promote the upgrade of these pilot zones, a move that will involve new regulatory approaches in areas such as Customs clearance, taxation, foreign exchange and data flow, according to the meeting.

Earlier this month, the country's policymakers vowed in the Government Work Report to "promote cross-border e-commerce by improving logistics services for cross-border delivery and boosting development of overseas warehouses".

Li Yongjie, deputy international trade representative of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 that China has so far approved the establishment of 165 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones.

According to data from the ministry released in June, the number of business entities engaged in cross-border e-commerce has surpassed 120,000 and the number of such industrial parks has surpassed 1,000, along with more than 2,500 overseas warehouses.

Looking ahead, all countries should further deepen cooperation in the field of cross-border e-commerce, and explore the establishment of a fair, transparent, mutually beneficial and business-friendly tax collection and administration system, Li Yongjie said.

"We hope that all countries will take a rational and objective view of the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, and through communication and consultation, work to resolve the 'growing pains' of cross-border e-commerce," she said.

The growth rate of cross-border e-commerce has been faster than the growth rate of general trade, and the share of cross-border e-commerce in international trade has been continuously rising, said Jiang Xiaojuan, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also at the Boao forum.

With the development of technology and the gradual improvement of supportive infrastructure, cross-border e-commerce will become a very powerful new growth driver in the field of international trade, Jiang said.

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that China's cross-border e-commerce sector continued its growth trajectory in 2024, with the values of total imports and exports in this segment standing at 2.63 trillion yuan ($362 billion), a 10.8-percent increase from the previous year.