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

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday reiterated that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and routes in the waterway will not be the same as they were in the past, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Araghchi made the remarks at a ceremony in the Iranian capital Tehran while stressing that "fundamental and strategic" changes have taken place in West Asia following the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

"We must accept that new realities have taken hold. The routes in the Strait of Hormuz will not be the same as they once were, and the strait's management will also not be as it was in the past," he said. "There are matters on which we have held negotiations, and these negotiations will continue."

The minister stressed that the region's security must be ensured by regional countries and without reliance on foreign forces, "who have come to the region aiming to safeguard their own interests and protect Israel, and whose continued presence will lead to nothing but insecurity for the entire region."

He added that Iran was ready to cooperate with all regional countries.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's FM says Hormuz Strait's routes, management not to return to pre-war era