Progress continues for cross-border e-commerce

China's cross-border e-commerce system continues to develop rapidly, with volume increasing nearly 10-fold over the past five years, an official said on Sunday, adding that this momentum was sustained during the first quarter of this year.

Li Xingqian, an official with the Ministry of Commerce, told a news conference in Beijing that the international market has undergone many changes over the past three years, and one significant change is that an increasing number of consumers are becoming accustomed to online shopping. Through e-commerce platforms, consumers can purchase goods from across the world, he said.

As many countries are boosting efforts to promote cross-border e-commerce, the ministry will work with the China National Intellectual Property Administration to accelerate the creation of guidelines targeting IPR protection.

Student loan interest to be exempted this year

About 2.3 billion yuan ($337 million) of interest on State-subsidized student loans will be exempted this year, and repayments of student loan principals, a total value of 5.5 billion yuan, can also be deferred, an official said Friday.

Ou Wenhan, an official with the Ministry of Finance, told a news conference that the measures are part of the national efforts to ease the financial pressure on college graduates, and about 4 million will benefit.

Since a subsidized student loan program was launched in 1999, more than 400 billion yuan of loans have been issued to over 20 million students from households in need.

Country deepens cooperation with WIPO

The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Tuesday signed an updated memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation.

The updated MoU aims to consolidate the existing exchanges and cooperation in the field of copyright and expand the bilateral cooperation in formulating and implementing international copyright treaties, discussing digital copyright protection issues, improving the risk prevention and control capacity of the copyright industry, sharing copyright to encourage creation and innovation among the small and medium-sized enterprises, and promoting the inheritance and development of folk literature and art.

The NCAC and WIPO have been cooperating in international copyright affairs. Since the two sides signed the MoU in 2015, they have made fruitful achievements in strengthening international copyright exchanges and cooperation.

On April 28, 2020, the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, the first international intellectual property treaty named after a Chinese city, took effect. The Marrakesh Treaty, the first and only human rights treaty with copyright so far, came into force in China on May 5, 2022.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the cooperation between China and WIPO. The NCAC and WIPO have pledged to further deepen their relations.