People’s Daily
Twenty-seven more cities and regions in China were recently approved by the State Council to set up cross-border e-commerce pilot zones. It brought the overall tally of the pilot zones to 132, which cover foreign trade powerhouses and municipalities, as well as cities that see obvious advantages and prospering development in the foreign trade sector. Cross-border e-commerce pilot zones aim to generate replicable practices and experiences for the development or cross-border e-commerce through institutional innovation, management innovation, service innovation and coordinated development.
They are expected to blaze a trail in standard making, operation flow, monitoring models and information construction in every link of cross-border e-commerce, including transaction, payments, logistics, customs clearance, tax refund and settlement of exchange.
Previously, China had set up 105 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in 30 provincial-level regions in five batches. These pilot zones have facilitated rapid development of the industry. According to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs, China’s cross-border e-commerce volume soared tenfold over the past five years. In 2021 alone, the country’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports climbed 15 percent year on year to 1.98 trillion yuan (about $311 billion). China has been accelerating the development of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in the recent years, trying to set up the six major systems of information sharing, financial services, intelligent logistics, e-commerce credit, statistical monitoring and risk prevention and control, and building a policy framework centering on the “single window” system and comprehensive demonstration parks. When approving the 27 cities and regions to establish cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, the State Council emphasized giving full play to the role of cross-border e-commerce in upgrading traditional industries.
