BEIJING, Mar. 6 (INP): “E-commerce cooperation between China and other Belt and Road countries emerged just several years ago. If more collaboration can be carried out in think tank establishment, talent cultivation, facilities construction, and service provision, greater potential can be unleashed from this promising sector”, Zheng Yali, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice President of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics said to China Economic Net during the ongoing Two Sessions. Two Sessions refer to the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and CPPCC National Committee. As an emerging field of international trade cooperation, e-commerce has been garnering increasing attention at this significant yearly event. According to Zheng, for now, the international rules for cross-border data flow and dispute resolution under the Belt and Road Initiative are still under exploration, and unified and widely recognized multilateral rules are yet to be formed. 

“For this purpose, digital methods should be increasingly applied in silk-road cooperation, such as blockchain-based digital signature, digital identity mutual recognition, digital documents and certificates, etc.”, she told CEN. She proposed to formulate a "Silk Road e-commerce" development plan for enterprises engaged in the digital economy to build a comprehensive and diversified service platform dedicated to serving e-commerce entrepreneurs through a variety of activities such as live streaming sales, collaboration with foreign partners, exhibitions, and training sessions.  “Supporting enterprises should also be fostered in areas such as marketing, intellectual property rights, cloud computing, logistics, and payment”, she suggested.  China’s international cooperation on Silk Road e-commerce started in 2016 when it signed the first memorandum of understanding on e-commerce cooperation with Chile.

 As of September 2023, China has signed bilateral e-commerce cooperation memoranda with 30 countries. From 2013 to 2022, China's trade in goods with Belt and Road countries increased from $1.04 trillion to $2.07 trillion. In the 2024 report on the work of the government delivered Tuesday, cross-border e-commerce was stressed for the 11th consecutive year. So far, Shanghai has been designated as the first Silk Road E-commerce Cooperation pilot zone in the country.  Finance services play an essential role in promoting cross-border cooperation. Zheng suggests supporting the banking and financial institutions or financial infrastructure of partner countries to join the cross-border RMB payment system and enhance the electronic application in cross-border RMB payment and receipt services.  “Services in terms of insurance, legal arbitration, and IP protection are also anticipated”, she said. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak China