BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- China's comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce have expanded to 31 provincial-level regions, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

As of the end of 2022, the State Council had launched seven batches of such pilot areas, which lifted the total to 165 across the country, ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said at a press conference.

The pilot zones have effectively helped maintain the scale and structure of foreign trade, and promoted innovation and development of business models, Shu said.

The volume of China's cross-border e-commerce has reached 2.11 trillion yuan (about 305.67 billion U.S. dollars), up 9.8 percent year on year, data from the General Administration of Customs shows, with the trade volume of the pilot zones accounting for over 90 percent of the total.

Shu said the ministry will continue to promote the construction of pilot zones, cultivating a group of backbone enterprises and strengthening international cooperation on cross-border e-commerce.