The export volume of global digital trade reached 7.23 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, according to the Global Digital Trade Development Report 2025 released at the ongoing Fourth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province on Friday.
The report shows that, according to the calculations by the compilation team, global digital trade achieved robust growth during 2020-2024 period, with the export volume increasing from 4.59 trillion U.S. dollars to 7.23 trillion U.S. dollars. This represents an average annual growth rate of 12.1 percent, which is higher than the average annual growth rate of 9.7 percent for global trade during the same period.
The export volume of digital delivery trade was 4.64 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 9.7 percent, while the digital ordering trade showed an even faster expansion, with an export volume of 2.62 trillion U.S. dollars and an average annual growth rate of 16.8 percent.
The five-day GDTE, China's only national-level exhibition dedicated to digital trade, kicked off on Thursday, bringing together thousands of companies around the world to Hanzhou to showcase their latest advancements in technologies and digital trade.
This year, the expo covers fields including digital entertainment, artificial intelligence (AI), Silk Road e-commerce, smart travel, digital healthcare, smart space, and intelligent logistics. For the first time, the expo has introduced over 30 activities and competitions related to connectivity, investment and financing.
Under the theme "Witness the innovative future at the Global Digital Trade Expo," the event attracted 1,800 exhibitors from 154 countries and regions. More than 20 percent of these are international exhibitors, with over 70 being Fortune Global 500 companies. This year’s total exhibition area covers more than 150,000 square meters.
Global digital trade export volume reaches 7.23 trln US dollars in 2024: report
An American content creator has given his take on a surprising new viral trend which has taken social media by storm, as global internet users joke about entering a "very Chinese phase" of their lives.
The unexpected phenomenon which is sweeping across the online world shines a new spotlight on Chinese culture and lifestyle, and sees users declare they are "becoming Chinese" alongside the phrase "you've met me at a very Chinese time of my life," accompanied by videos of them adopting Chinese habits on various social media platforms.
U.S. influencer Paul Mike Ashton, known online as 'BaoBaoXiong', gained fame for coining the phrase which led to the "city or not city" meme back in 2024.
As for this latest online sensation, Ashton believes it's not just another amusing meme, but also a casual way to experience Chinese culture through everyday details, rather than abstract stereotypes.
He said the current wave is giving foreign audiences a fresh, tangible perspective on China, which makes cultural exchange more engaging and relatable.
"As a content creator, I absolutely think that this is going to be changing the way people perceive China in general. Oftentimes when we need simplified stories, we need people to see things as a whole unit as opposed to their little parts. I would say even just the practice of doing these things is giving you a chance to engage with the culture and engage with specifics instead of just kind of this big overall idea and getting new experience like 'OK, this particular form of life actually does really feel very nice and very comfortable'. I think it also gives a chance for Chinese creators to take more of a spotlight and actually talk a little bit more about their culture in ways that people will listen because there's a curiosity about this," he said.
Ashton also believes there are other deeper reasons for why this "becoming Chinese" trend has taken off, pointing to the current challenges and level of discontent many people feel in the U.S., which means many are looking for some form of escapism.
"I think I've heard somebody mention before kind of this idea that the U.S., politically and economically, is in a very sensitive time. There's a lot going on and there's a lot of unrest and a lot of unhappiness and a lot of unsatisfaction. So, I think that it's been proposed this idea that people are kind of looking for stuff outside of these sorts of traditional cultural superpowers to kind of find a sense of either excitement or safety or comfort," he said.
Ashton also pointed to how concerns over the future of the popular TikTok app early last year saw many online users flocking over to the Chinese mobile app RedNote as being another notable factor driving the emergence of these online trends.
He said this renewed global interest in Chinese culture has created fresh engagement channels on other international platforms.
"This is almost a year now since the initial TikTok refugee exodus last year in which a lot of people suddenly took interest in Chinese culture in a new way than before. So, I think there's been since then some opportunities to engage with and interact with Chinese culture in TikTok, in international social media, besides just China on its own that definitely I think has influenced this becoming a bigger trend," he said.
US influencer shares thoughts on 'Becoming Chinese' trend
