China will further ease market access and improve policies for cross-border e-commerce retail imports, Premier Li Qiang said Thursday, pledging to share opportunities in its market with other countries.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Fifth Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Li stressed timely observation of new changes and new trends in international economic and trade development, promotion of better development of global trade in the digital era, and China's readiness to make greater contribution to global digital trade.
Citing remarks by President Xi Jinping, Li said in the speech that digital technologies are increasingly integrating into all areas and the full process of economic and social development, profoundly changing production, lifestyles and social governance. Against the backdrop of accelerating digitization, Li shared his views on where global trade is headed, how the international community should respond, and what role China can play.
First, Li said that digital trade offers a lens through which one can observe new changes and trends in international economic and trade development. The boom in digital trade is creating new momentum and opportunities, opening up vast space for global growth, making it easier for markets to connect, and accelerating innovation in world trade. At the same time, it has also brought widening development gaps, new trade barriers and gaps in international rules into sharper focus.
Second, Li called for advancing global trade in the digital era with an open mindset. Facing economic globalization, the international community should work together with sincerity and coordination, strengthen digital connectivity, and promote better alignment among markets. Efforts should be made to bridge the digital divide and enhance North-South cooperation in digital trade. Countries should also improve digital governance, make better use of mechanisms such as the WTO, and build a fair and reasonable economic and trade order to promote freer, more inclusive and more orderly trade.
And third, Li said China will contribute more to global digital trade through concrete actions. China will continue to expand digital consumption demand and share market opportunities with all other countries. It will further strengthen support for the digital industry and help drive global digitalization, while continuing to optimize the digital development environment and offer Chinese solutions to improving international rules.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Adylbek Aleshovich Kasymaliev, also addressed the opening ceremony, which was attended by more than 1,200 representatives from nearly 50 countries and regions, as well as international organizations.
The expo, an event dedicated to promoting digital trade and industrial cooperation, is running until Sept. 27, with artificial intelligence as its main theme.
China's digital trade has expanded rapidly in recent years. The country's digitally deliverable service trade value expanded at an average annual rate of 11.2 percent between 2016 and 2025, outpacing the global average by 1.8 percentage points.
China to ease market access, boost digital trade: premier
Inbound travel to China has kept growing since the start of this year, as the country's adoption of travel facilitation measures, including expanded visa-free access, has made border entry easier for international visitors.
Foreign nationals made nearly 61.29 million border crossings in the January-August period, up 19.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest official data released Thursday. Visa-free entries accounted for 23.72 million of the total, or 77.6 percent, up 26.8 percent from a year earlier.
In Beijing, various ports in Beijing have seen an average of 15,000 border entries by foreigners each day since the start of September, up 20 percent from August's daily average. Notably, the figure topped 17,000 on Sept 7, setting a new single-day record for the year.
During the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival which starts on Friday and the week-long National Day holiday season starting on Oct 1, the number of border entries and exits through Beijing's airports is projected to reach 727,000. The Beijing Capital International Airport is expected to handle 547,000 entries and exits, or 54,700 per day on the average, while the Beijing Daxing International Airport is expected to handle 180,000, or 18,000 per day on the average.
To ensure smooth customs clearance, the Beijing General Border Inspection Station will open additional inspection lanes during peak periods to reduce travelers' waiting time. It will also maintain permanent multilingual advisory and guidance stations staffed by on-site officers, thereby improving passenger clearance efficiency.
East China's Shandong Province, one of the Chinese provinces closest to South Korea, is expected to see more than 190,000 border entries and exits by travelers, averaging over 8,000 per day, according to the Shandong General Border Inspection Station. Notably, the Weihai Shidao Port is expected to receive more than 3,000 tourist arrivals from South Korea, a marked increase in inbound group travel compared with previous years.
"I'm very interested in Chinese traditions, so I've chosen to visit Rongcheng in Weihai during the Mid-Autumn Festival to experience the holiday here firsthand," said Kim Kyung-nam, a tourist from South Korea.
In response to the overlapping passenger flows and the concentrated arrival of large tour groups during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the Shidao Border Inspection Station has worked out a specific duty plan including strategic deployment of personnel and the opening of all inspection lanes to minimize clearance times and maximize operational efficiency.
"We have set up border inspection and cultural tourism facilitation service posts, where on-duty officers will provide bilingual service for consultation and process entry formalities for tour groups, balancing efficient customs clearance with a human touch," said Li Nannan, head of a frontier inspection team at the Shidao Border Inspection Station.
East China's Jiangsu Province, with its rich cultural heritage and diverse cultural and tourism resources, attracts tourists from around the world. The Jiangsu General Border Inspection Station predicts that the ports across the province will process 110,000 border entries and exits and handle over 750 inbound and outbound flights and vessel voyages during the two holiday seasons. For outbound travel, Singapore, Thailand and other countries have emerged as popular destinations for mainland residents departing from Jiangsu's ports.
Tourist cities in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are top choices for Vietnamese tourists. Thanks to its advantageous geographic location, efficient customs clearance services, and abundant border tourism resources, cross-border tourism between Guangxi and Vietnam is steadily gaining popularity.
According to the Guangxi General Border Inspection Station, the total number of border entries and exits through the four key ports -- Nanning, Guilin, Youyiguan, and Dongxing -- is expected to exceed 355,800 during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday season.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday, is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, the festival falls on Friday, and the public holiday lasts three days through Sunday.
China's National Day holiday lasts from Oct 1 to 7 this year.
Inbound travel to China continues to surge as visitors seek diverse experiences
