Fifth Global Digital Trade Expo concludes in Hangzhou

An expo highlighting China's efforts to deepen global digital trade cooperation concluded in Hangzhou, a tech hub in east China's Zhejiang Province, on Sunday with a series of new product launches and announcements.

Running from Sept. 23 to 27, the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) featured 226 debuts, including product launches, premieres and exhibitions, and attracted more than 50,000 participants from 163 countries and regions. The event highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in reshaping trade and China's push to expand global digital trade cooperation.

A total of 996 AI companies, nearly three times the number at the previous expo, attended the event and showcased more than 100 AI application scenarios.

"Through this expo, we have realized that China's AI sector is garnering more attention and recognition around the world, and Chinese solutions are empowering the development of digital trade worldwide. We are shifting from merely showcasing products and technologies toward fostering chains for product and technology cooperation, ultimately creating a growing digital trade ecosystem," said Li Yang, secretary-general of the GDTE organizing committee's secretariat.

The expo serves as a crucial bridge for international dialogue and mechanism building.

The China-Arab AI International Cooperation and AFDE First China-Arab Digital Dialogue, held during this year's expo, brought together more than 200 participants from China and abroad. Seven cooperation projects worth 255 million U.S. dollars were signed, covering areas including robotics and smart manufacturing.

This year's exhibition also featured a dialogue on BRICS special economic zones, focusing on practical cooperation. In 2025. The number of Chinese enterprises engaged in trade with other BRICS members exceeded 300,000 for the first time, up 8.8 percent year on year. The China Center for Cooperation on Special Economic Zones in BRICS Countries was also launched in Hangzhou last year.

In addition, the "Global Digital Trade Development Report 2026" was unveiled at the event, outlining the scale and structure of global digital trade, technological transformation and innovative practices, while also exploring future industry trends.

The global digital trade sector has demonstrated resilience amid multiple external pressures, with export value reaching 7.75 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025, a 7.1 percent year-on-year increase, according to the report.

Fifth Global Digital Trade Expo concludes in Hangzhou

Emerging technologies increasingly being adopted in sectors such as new energy and driverless vehicles are transforming China's vocational education, prompting schools to update training programs and students and factory workers to upgrade their skills.

The changes are most noticeable in some of China's major ports, which now operate around the clock and are seeing growing use of heavy machinery.

In Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, port operators say they are providing training sessions to staff, helping them keep up with the latest technological advances and ensure smooth port operations.

"Our maintenance personnel need to adapt to changes, learn the essentials of the maintenance of new-generation equipment, and the methods for troubleshooting complex faults. They are also required to develop new approaches and new skills," said Chen Wenqiang, assistant to the manager of the Industry and Information Department at Ningbo Zhenhai Port Operations Co., Ltd.

As new equipment becomes more widely used, vocational schools are adapting their training programs to prepare students for changing technical demands.

"New energy equipment no longer has engines. Instead, it is equipped with battery packs and controllers. Our workshop has purchased two sets of electric-powered equipment. We will soon draw up new curriculum standards and roll them out for teaching," said Weng Yan, a teacher at Ningbo Technician College.

The shift extends beyond the new energy sector. In the heavy equipment industry, students are learning to diagnose a new generation of faults as machinery becomes more intelligent and digitally connected.

"A lot of equipment is already being used in autonomous driving. Common faults we used to see, such as engine faults, may no longer occur. Instead, faults may arise in electronic systems such as computers, chips and various sensors. So our learning and research need to shift toward intelligent connectivity and electrification," said Jiang Xinhua, a teacher at the college and gold medalist in heavy vehicle maintenance at the 2022 WorldSkills Competition Special Edition.

Emerging technologies reshape China's vocational education