Cross-border e-commerce development should be prioritized
A file picture of the loading and unloading of containers at the Lianyungang Port in East China's Jiangsu Province.
Cross-border e-commerce, with growing weight in international trade, has helped China's foreign trade and needs further development, a CPPCC Shanghai Committee deputy said.
Sun Lixing, also a researcher at the Institute of World Economy at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized the significance of improving cross-border e-commerce.
"Cross-border e-commerce exports should gradually shift from low value-added commodities to high-value-added and high-technology ones for the long run," said Sun.
Silk Road e-commerce, a new economic cooperation platform under the Belt and Road Initiative, has increased two-way trade between China and BRI countries.
"Shanghai, for example, is taking the lead nationwide by creating a cooperation pilot zone for Silk Road e-commerce, improving the systematic opening-up, and benefiting enterprises," Sun said.
He saw that several nations are reducing tax incentives due to China's huge cross-border e-commerce growth.
"Shanghai has to withstand the risks, as it has a high degree of external dependence, but it should also dare to transform in the foreign trade industry by cultivating new growth points," Sun said.
He urged Shanghai to prioritize cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses, and international free trade zones.
Sun Lixing, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
In addition, Sun said, "We should firmly implement the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), which ASEAN launched in 2012."
He also underscored the importance of reducing market access barriers, removing market access restrictions on cross-border services trade, and promoting digital and green trade.
The national version of the negative list of restrictions on foreign investment access has been reduced to 29.
According to the General Administration of Customs, China's import and export trade in products totaled 39.79 trillion yuan (US$541 million) in the first 11 months of 2024, a 4.9 percent growth.
In the first three quarters of 2024, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached a record-breaking 1.88 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.5 percent, accounting for nearly 6 percent of China's foreign trade.
Currently, China boasts over 120,000 cross-border e-commerce enterprises and has established bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanisms with over 30 countries.
