Ministry of Commerce: Silk Road e-commerce expands cooperation to benefit the world, partner countries increase to 35.

On June 20th, the person in charge of the Electronic Commerce Division of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of China's e-commerce from January to May 2025. From January to May, China's e-commerce has demonstrated strong innovative capabilities, new business models, a large market scale, and broad international cooperation advantages, unleashing domestic demand vitality, accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade, and assisting in the construction of inclusive economic globalization. Consumer e-commerce promotes quality and expands domestic demand. Actions such as cultivating quality e-commerce and supporting foreign trade to expand domestic sales have been deepened, and the "policy+holiday+activity" combination has unleashed consumption potential. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, online retail sales increased by 8.5% from January to May. Quality goods, online service consumption, and new models and formats have become new growth drivers. Wuxi Online Offline Communication Information Technology Co., Ltd. has deepened its integration trend, with a focus on monitoring digital products on platforms, 15 categories of used for new household appliances and electronics, online service consumption, and instant retail sales, which have increased by 10.4%, 14%, 13.3%, and 12% respectively. Since April, sales in the platform's foreign trade zone have exceeded 20 billion. Industrial e-commerce assists in connecting and promoting transformation. "E-commerce + industrial parks" are driving industrial transformation, and industrial e-commerce is deepening its support for enterprises to enhance their digital transformation capabilities and synergies in domestic and foreign trade. Regions such as Xinjiang, Chongqing, and Guangxi have increased cooperation between platforms and industrial parks, connecting and reaching agreements with nearly 50 cooperation intentions including Shenzhen Agricultural Power Group and e-commerce logistics, with a total contract amount exceeding 4 billion yuan. Technology is helping to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The application of AI on major industrial e-commerce platforms has expanded from quality control and other operational aspects to services such as supply and demand matching, extending to the entire process of industrial development and reducing research and development cycles by 40% and operating costs by 15%. Silk Road e-commerce expands cooperation for global benefits. The number of partner countries has increased to 35, upgrading with Kazakhstan and establishing a new bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanism with Bangladesh. The "E-commerce Benefits the World" theme activities are progressing intensively and efficiently, with 40 key events throughout the year collaborating to provide precise support. Events included the "Silk Road e-commerce" International Cooperation Matchmaking Meetings in Henan, Shaanxi, and Hunan, the China-Central Asia "Silk Road e-commerce" Deepening Cooperation Roundtable, and the "African Goodies Online Shopping Season", with participation from 52 countries' governments, associations, and companies leading to over 100 cooperation intentions and injecting new e-commerce vitality into multilateral economic and trade cooperation. The "Silk Road e-commerce" cooperation pilot area system for open trade has made new progress by signing a strategic cooperation agreement on data cross-border trading infrastructure and rule systems with Kazakhstan, opening up new pathways for data cooperation with neighboring countries. This article is compiled from the official website of the Ministry of Commerce, translated by GMTEight Editor: Liu Jiayin.