The Pudong Cross-Border Service Institute signs cooperation deals with a number of other cross-border service institutes at the first Pudong International Conference on Digital Commerce, which opened in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, on Nov 19. [Photo/chinanews.com]

The first Pudong International Conference on Digital Commerce commenced on Nov 19 in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. 

At the event, the cross-border service institutes of 20 e-commerce giants signed cooperation deals with the Pudong E-Commerce Cross-Border Service Center to promote the development of digital commerce in Pudong.

Cross-border e-commerce trade in Pudong accounts for nearly 40 percent of all such trade in Shanghai. 

Shen Yuliang, a professor with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that Pudong boasts a solid foundation for the development of digital commerce. 

The area is home to a number of foreign e-commerce enterprises, airports, and harbors, facilitating the development of digital commerce, Shen added. 

Moving forward, Pudong needs to begin focusing more on developing finance, insurance, and logistics to become more competitive, Shen noted. 

Statistics show that cross-border e-commerce trade in Shanghai was valued at 1.98 billion yuan ($281 million) in 2018, accounting for 40.7 percent of all trade in Shanghai. 

Over the first half of 2019, cross-border e-commerce businesses in the area have grown rapidly, with the total value of imports and exports reaching $1.48 billion, an increase of 98 percent year on year. 

Wang Hua, deputy head of Pudong New Area, said that Pudong will support the construction of the Cross-Border E-Commerce Service Base, as well as online e-commerce industrial chain service platforms and e-commerce public service platforms. 

Wang vowed to provide more favorable polices for cross-border service institutes and digital commerce firms and build a more favorable international trade climate by deepening reforms and further opening-up. 

Liu Min, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, expressed hope that Pudong would step up efforts to attract more internationally-renowned e-commerce giants and specialized cross-border service institutes. 

The conference brought together a number of well-known e-commerce firms, including Amazon, Alibaba, WISH, and Ebay, to discuss the development trajectory of international trade. The event also provided the companies with an opportunity to establish cooperative relations.

The host of the event said that the conference was meant to help firms better utilize the internet and intelligent marketing technologies to explore international markets and expand abroad.