Premier Li Qiang tells Global Digital Trade Expo that Beijing will open further and push international standards alignment as AI takes center stage
China will further ease market access and improve policies for cross-border e-commerce retail imports, Premier Li Qiang said Thursday.
He made the pledge while addressing the opening ceremony of the Fifth Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. Li said China is ready to share opportunities in its market with other countries.
The rapid growth of digital trade has created new opportunities. It has also brought widening development gaps, new trade barriers and gaps in international rules into sharper focus, Li said.
He called for closer international cooperation to strengthen digital connectivity. He also urged advances in the alignment and mutual recognition of standards.
The international community should enhance North-South cooperation in the field of digital trade, Li said. Developing countries need more support in technology, infrastructure and personnel training.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Aleshovich Kasymaliev also spoke at the opening. More than 1,200 representatives from nearly 50 countries and regions, as well as international organizations, attended.
The expo runs through Sept. 27. Artificial intelligence is its main theme. Organizers describe it as an event dedicated to promoting digital trade and industrial cooperation.
China’s digital trade has expanded rapidly in recent years. The country’s digitally deliverable service trade value grew at an average annual rate of 11.2 percent between 2016 and 2025. That pace outpaced the global average by 1.8 percentage points.
Li and the foreign leaders visited the expo grounds before the ceremony.
For executives watching market-access rules and developers tracking cross-border digital infrastructure, the signals are direct. China is signaling continued policy adjustments on e-commerce imports and a push for shared technical standards. The focus on AI at this year’s gathering puts the technology at the center of the trade conversation.
The premier’s remarks underscored both the opportunities and the frictions that come with digital expansion. Development gaps and rule gaps remain live issues. Support for developing countries in tech, infrastructure and training was presented as part of the needed response.
Attendance figures and the presence of leaders from Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan point to continued regional interest in the platform. The four-day schedule gives participants time to engage on the AI theme and related industrial cooperation.
China’s growth numbers on digitally deliverable services provide a concrete benchmark. The 11.2 percent average annual rate from 2016 to 2025 sits 1.8 points above the global figure. That performance forms part of the backdrop for the policy commitments announced Thursday.
No additional policy details beyond the market-access easing and e-commerce import improvements were outlined in the remarks. The call for standards alignment and mutual recognition remains general. The North-South cooperation appeal is similarly broad, focused on technology, infrastructure and training support.
The expo itself continues through the weekend. Its stated purpose is to promote digital trade and industrial cooperation, with artificial intelligence as the organizing theme this year.