On the morning of November 5, 2022, the Parallel Session on Opening-up and Governance of Digital Economy of the 5th Hongqiao International Economic Forum (Hongqiao Forum), hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the International Trade Centre and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, was held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai).

Wang Hao, Governor of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, Li Fei, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, attended the forum and delivered a speech, and Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, delivered a video message. Lu Shan, Vice Governor of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, chaired the parallel session.

Wang Hao, Governor of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, believes that the digital economy is a vital element of the modernized economic system and an essential direction for developing the world economy. Zhejiang Province will carry out the “Digital Zhejiang” strategic deployment proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping when he worked in Zhejiang, conduct the in-depth implementation of “Project No. 1” for the digital economy, and accelerate the construction of the digital economy as the core of the modern economic system. Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Fei pointed out that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the opening-up of the digital economy, governance, and international cooperation. The Ministry of Commerce will promote a high level of openness, improve the digital governance system and promote international cooperation in the digital economy. ITC Executive Director Pamela said that the digital divide needs to be addressed urgently and that ITC will support developing countries’ micro and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the digital economy.

The guests from the political, academic, and business sectors exchanged views on the popular issues of “openness, governance, cooperation, and sharing” in the digital economy. Zheng Yongnian, Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Director of the Institute of International Affairs, Qianhai believes that in the era of digital civilization, the ability of the digital economy to benefit society is an essential factor influencing the competition among major powers, and Yi Xiaozhun, former Deputy Director-General of the WTO, former China’s ambassador to the WTO and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out that China will change from following others to open up to actively opening up and promote multilateral cooperation in the digital economy with a high level of openness. He argued that negotiations on multilateral digital economy trade rules should be centered on promoting sustainable development and suggested that the negotiations should encourage active participation of the private sector. Zhang Yong, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Alibaba Group, Matthew Margulies, Senior Vice President of the US-China Business Council, Xie Chang’an, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China, Jochen Goller, President and CEO of BMW Group China and other domestic and international figures, participated in the dialogue and roundtable discussion sessions.

During the parallel session, ITC, Zhejiang University, and Alibaba jointly released the RCEP Cross-border E-Commerce Development Report. The report states that the RCEP agreement plays an important role in building cross-border ecosystems and establishing partnerships in the region. It is pointed out that enterprises can use digital e-commerce platforms to complete digital transformation through digital marketing, market counseling, knowledge sharing, and other paths to achieve diversified exports and stable growth.