Several years ago when cross-border e-commerce just emerged, the government took a prudent and inclusive attitude and issued a transitional policy. The measure was effective and boosted the industry and foreign trade, Premier Li Keqiang said at the State Council executive meeting on Sept 20.

As the policy has delivered good results, the meeting decided to extend the transition period for supervision of cross-border e-commerce retail imports to the end of 2018 and improve supporting systems.

Premier Li said cross-border e-commerce could promote free trade and innovative business patterns, playing an important role in transforming foreign trade and enhancing competitiveness.

According to the report submitted at the meeting, a number of good practices and experiences have been accumulated in technical standards, business procedures and supervision in the past two years since pilot zones on cross-border e-commerce were established.

Statistics also show that the trade volume in the pilot zones doubled from January to July, much higher than the average speed of foreign trade growth of the whole country. In the past two years, more than 400 third-party platforms and 20,000 merchants were established, creating jobs for 2 million people.

“New growth drivers and business patterns should never be overlooked. They are growing fast and can force China’s manufacturing industry to upgrade,” Premier Li said.

While bringing convenience to the people, new businesses could also drive the growth of logistics, payment, and express delivery, Premier Li said.

The meeting also decided to promote online e-commerce services, offline industrial parks, and good practices in information sharing, financial services, intelligent logistics, and risk control. Meanwhile, another group of qualified cities were also selected as pilot zones.

Premier Li said supervision over e-commerce merchants and third-party platforms should be clarified and enhanced to prevent risks and guarantee the rights of consumers.