"Digital Service Trade" injects new momentum into the open world economy

On September 4th, the audience visited the exhibition area of the Beijing National Convention Center at the Fair for Trade in Services. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Wei

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 4th (Xinhua) - "Digital Service Trade" injects new momentum into the open world economy

Xinhua News Agency reporters Wei Mengjia and Ma Xinran

Intelligent medical equipment, remote education, AI robots, and cloud sales of goods from various countries... At the 2023 China International Trade in Services Fair held in Beijing from the 2nd to the 6th, various digital and intelligent applications and products were overwhelming.

The Summit Forum on the Development Trends and Frontiers of Digital Trade, as well as the Summit Forum on the Development of Service Trade, and other peak forums of the China International Fair for Trade in Services, were recently held at the National Convention Center. The opportunities in China under the new trend of digital trade development have sparked heated discussions among the attending guests.

"The revolution of digital technology has injected strong new impetus into the development of service trade. The information technology revolution and industrial transformation continue to advance, and economic globalization has entered a new stage of data-driven development." said Long Guoqiang, Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

The world economy is still struggling to recover. Several attending experts expressed that digital trade, empowered by digital technology, with modern information networks as important carriers, and supported by digital platforms, has a profound impact on global trade patterns, trade structures, global trade rules, and world trade patterns, becoming a booster for economic globalization and a new engine for international trade growth.

"Digitization is an important driving force for the development of globalization," said Jiang Xiaojuan, President of the China Society of Industrial Economics and Professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In recent years, data-driven service trade has grown the fastest and its proportion continues to rise, becoming a major part of service trade.

The Digital Trade Development and Cooperation Report 2023 released by the Department of Foreign Economic Research of the Development Research Center of the State Council and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology on the 3rd shows that in the past three years, the scale of global cross-border data flow has increased by 120.6%, and the scale of digital service trade has increased by 36.9%, both higher than the growth rate of global service trade and goods trade during the same period. According to McKinsey's estimate, it is expected that global data flows will contribute $11 trillion to economic growth by 2025.

According to data from the World Trade Organization, the global scale of digital service trade in 2022 was $3.82 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%, accounting for 53.7% of global service trade.

Jiang Xiaojuan stated that digital platforms have reduced cross-border transaction costs and played an important role in improving international trade efficiency and benefiting the general public.

On September 4th, at the Meituan booth of the National Convention Center of the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, visitors visited an automatic delivery vehicle. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Lingyi

"Shandong excavators, Yunnan bedding, Zhejiang yoga clothes, Guangzhou kitchenware... foreign trade professionals from all walks of life can 'sit at home and sell globally'. The staff at the Alibaba International Station booth said that the company's full chain AI foreign trade products have multiple functions such as product release and management, market analysis, customer reception, and real-time video chat translation. Through VR interactive scenes and other technologies, they can help foreign trade enterprises' go abroad faster, farther, and more conveniently '.".

The Chief Representative of the International Monetary Fund to China, Barnett, stated at the Trade in Services Conference that the world economy still faces challenges in short-term resilience and long-term growth, and promoting the development of global trade in services is crucial. China is a key hub in Asian trade.

In recent years, China has attached great importance to the development of digital trade and foreign cooperation, accelerated the construction of digital trade demonstration zones, cultivated new forms and models of digital trade, and actively participated in the formulation and negotiation of international economic and trade rules and standards. New businesses and services such as digital culture, digital finance, Internet healthcare, online education, and smart logistics are emerging.

The Digital Trade Development and Cooperation Report 2023 shows that China's digital trade development maintains a good momentum. In 2022, the total import and export value of digital services in China reached $371.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%, ranking third among the top 10 countries in terms of growth rate.

Zhang Feng, Chairman of the China Electronics Society, believes that the large number of netizens and the preliminary improvement of network infrastructure construction have laid the foundation for the high-quality development of China's digital trade, and have also opened up new fields and tracks to seize the new opportunities nurtured in the process of global industrial structure and layout adjustment.

Recently, the Statistical Report on the Development of Internet in China released by China Internet Network Information Center showed that as of June this year, the number of Internet users in China had reached 1.079 billion, and the Internet penetration rate had reached 76.4%; The construction of digital infrastructure has been further accelerated, and a total of 2.937 million 5G base stations have been built and opened.

In addition, utilizing the advantages of platform big data and algorithms, some digital platform enterprises have also integrated domestic and foreign resources in recent years, accelerated overseas market layout, and promoted high-quality development of foreign investment and cooperation. For example, multiple Chinese digital enterprises are exploring the Brazilian market in areas such as digital payments, e-commerce, social platforms, and ride hailing services, allowing local people to enjoy the "digital dividend".

On September 3rd, several children watched a demonstration of a single hole laparoscopic surgical robot at the National Convention Center. Photo by Ju Huanzong, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

The strong development momentum of the digital economy and the vast market have also shown many enterprises business opportunities. During the China International Fair for Trade in Services, numerous foreign-funded enterprises and foreign exhibitors gathered in Beijing for close exchanges and seeking cooperation partners.

Epad, a high-tech enterprise headquartered in Germany, is one of the participating companies, mainly providing full lifecycle resource information system services for the enterprise. Last year, a branch was established in Beijing and merged into the Sino German Industrial Park in Beijing.

Mao Runzhi, Director of Business Development and Government Affairs at Epard Consulting Co., Ltd., stated that in the digital age, enterprises around the world need to undergo information transformation and upgrading to make management and operation more efficient and reduce production costs. This also brings development opportunities for Epard. "China's digital economy is developing rapidly, with high demand from enterprises and a vast market. We hope to find more partners through the China International Fair for Trade in Services to take root and develop in China," she said.