China to further open up digital trade sectors: commerce ministry

BEIJING, Sept. 11 -- China will further expand opening up in digital trade-related sectors such as telecommunications, the Internet and culture, Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping said on Thursday.

China will encourage foreign investors to increase investment in the digital sector and improve the convenience of investment and operations for foreign-invested enterprises engaged in digital trade, Sheng told a press conference.

The country will promote the orderly cross-border flow of data, accelerate the formulation of standards related to digital trade, and advance the international alignment of these standards, Sheng said, adding that China will also implement its negative list for cross-border services trade and continuously raise the level of opening up in digital trade.

In building digital trade platforms, China will establish national demonstration zones for digital trade, and build clusters that feature higher-level opening up, institutional innovations, a sound business environment and strong spillover effects.

In addition, China will nurture leading digital trade enterprises with strong innovation capacity and global competitiveness, and support them in expanding global markets, as well as foster small and medium-sized firms that are highly internationalized and possess unique competitive advantages, said Sheng.

China will play a constructive role in discussions regarding digital trade rules under the frameworks of the World Trade Organization, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and work to safeguard and improve the multilateral governance system for the digital economy, Sheng noted.