5th Global Digital Trade Expo to open in Hangzhou with record overseas participation: official

The 5th Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) will open later this month in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, with record overseas participation expected, organizers said Monday.

Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong said at a Beijing press conference the expo will run from Sept 23 through 27, spotlighting the pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) across key sectors.

"The Global Digital Trade Expo is China's only national-level international professional expo themed on digital trade. Over the past editions, it has attracted over 5,000 domestic and foreign enterprises, 87,000 professional buyers and 627,000 visitors, featuring over 1,200 debut, first-time exhibits and first-time showcases. The 5th GDTE will be held in Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province from Sept 23 to 27," said Yan.

Yan noted the expo's scale and highlighted its strong international presence, pointing to record overseas delegations and guest countries of honor.

"To date, the expo covers a total area of 170,000 square meters, with international exhibitors making up for over 20 percent. Malaysia and Hungary will serve as the guest countries of honor, and the number of overseas delegations is set to exceed the total of previous editions. Representatives from 121 countries and regions, as well as 29 international organizations, have confirmed their participation and will conduct exchanges and consultations on topics such as Silk Road e-commerce, cross-border data flows and green trade," said Yan.

He also highlighted the AI‑driven theme and new features of this year's expo.

"This year's expo is themed 'Meet the AI Future at GDTE', and more than one-third of the exhibitors will be AI companies. It takes the lead in setting up a 'Token Zone,' and bases for pilot-scale testing of AI application will make their debut. The event will also host a world AI open source competition, an embodied intelligence application challenge, and a global brain-computer interface innovation competition to accelerate the application of AI technology," he said.

5th Global Digital Trade Expo to open in Hangzhou with record overseas participation: official

China opened 15 new international air cargo routes in September, adding 42 round-trip flights per week, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP)’s air logistics division said on Sunday.

The newly launched routes included nine to Asia, four to Europe, and two to North America.

The cargo transported on the routes mainly included cross-border e-commerce goods, fresh food and agricultural products, electromechanical and electronic products, high-end manufactured goods, and consumer goods for daily use.

The flights are operated by nine airlines, eight of which are Chinese carriers.

According to CFLP’s air logistics division, China had opened a total of 130 new international air cargo routes as of September 30 this year, adding more than 334 round-trip flights per week.

China opens 15 new int'l air cargo routes in Sept