Towards a New Future of Digital Trade: The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo 2025 Opens in Hangzhou

The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) 2025, under the theme “Digital Trade, Commerce Connects the World,” grandly opened on Sept 25 at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. Jointly hosted by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and the Ministry of Commerce, this year’s Expo brings together the latest achievements and top expertise in global digital trade, aiming to create a high-level platform for international exchange, showcasing innovation, and promoting open cooperation, thereby injecting new momentum into the global digital economy.

The scale of this year’s GDTE is unprecedented, attracting over 1,000 enterprises from more than 50 countries and regions, including Fortune Global 500 companies and numerous unicorns in the digital trade sector. The exhibition features multiple themed zones such as Digital Technology, Digital Services, Digital Content, and Digital Logistics, comprehensively displaying innovative applications of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Blockchain across various trade stages. Visitors can experience the latest technological achievements firsthand, including unmanned logistics vehicles, metaverse virtual stores, and AI real-time translation.

A series of significant events were held during the opening ceremony. The main forum featured keynote speeches by heads of international organizations, Nobel Prize laureates in economics, and global business leaders, who discussed global issues including the restructuring of digital trade rules, cross-border data flow, and green development. Furthermore, the “Global Digital Trade Trends Report 2025” will be released during the Expo to provide authoritative guidance for industry development.

This GDTE places special emphasis on the digital transformation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), establishing special sections like the “Digital Free Trade Zone.” Through scenario-based displays and precise matching services, it aims to help SMEs utilize digital tools to explore international markets. Simultaneously, to promote cultural exchange, a Digital Culture and Tourism section has been added, showcasing how digital technology empowers traditional culture, enabling Chinese stories to reach the world through digital products.

A key leader of Zhejiang Province stated in the opening address: “As a pioneer in the digital economy and a hub for digital trade, Zhejiang will fully leverage the GDTE as a national platform to deepen cooperation with countries worldwide, jointly explore new pathways for market-oriented allocation of data factors, and promote the development of an open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial new landscape for digital trade.”

Industry observers widely believe that the consecutive successful hosting of the GDTE not only demonstrates China’s firm resolve to expand high-level opening-up and share opportunities in digital development but also highlights Hangzhou’s global influence as “China’s Leading City in the Digital Economy.” This year’s Expo is expected to facilitate the signing of a series of major cooperative projects, yielding fruitful outcomes.

The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo 2025 will run until September 28. Over 100,000 professional visitors are anticipated to attend for visits and business negotiations during this period, collectively mapping out a new blueprint for digital trade.

About the Global Digital Trade Expo:
The Global Digital Trade Expo is China’s only national-level, international, and professional exhibition themed exclusively on digital trade. It aims to create a vital platform for promoting international exchange and cooperation in the field of digital trade, driving the innovative development of digital trade, and sharing the dividends of digital economic growth.