Editor's note: Matteo Giovannini is a finance professional at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Beijing and a member of the China Task Force at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The article reflects the author's views, and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in both developed and emerging markets presenting countless economic challenges and forcing countries to rethink how to conduct business at the global level.

China is not immune to such circumstances. The country has taken initiatives to scale-up favorable policies in order to stabilize and promote foreign trade. Accordingly, cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has emerged as a key generator of growth, gaining momentum, and becoming a prominent channel for China's imports and exports.

The CBEC, which consists of activities of purchasing or selling products via online shopping across national borders, does not represent a phenomenon grown overnight. China started to set up a comprehensive pilot zone for the CBEC in 2015 and, over the last seven years, the number of such areas has reached a total of 165 nationwide.

On November 24, China announced the establishment of comprehensive pilot zones for the CBEC in 33 cities and regions in order to promote the digital advancement of traditional industries and to fine-tune China's foreign trade to a post pandemic global economy.

From a geographical standpoint, the most evident aspect that can be observed from the announcement is that, unlike previous pilot zones that were mostly located along eastern coastal regions, the newly added pilot zones are all situated in central and western regions where e-commerce is less developed.

The inclusion to the new list of zones of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, along with various third-tier and fourth-tier cities, represents a crucial message for the national development strategy.

Through the establishment of comprehensive CBEC pilot zones in remote areas, China can promote local market economies through a highly dynamic new form of foreign trade that can boost the opening-up of the country to the rest of the world.

The overall strategy that focuses on high-quality domestic development while promoting a long-awaited economic rebalancing between the western inland regions and eastern coastal cities is welcomed by economists and China watchers.

At the macro level, the presence of CBEC pilot zones all over China's territory can unleash the potential of the entire nation, by capturing hidden opportunities in untapped regions and by combining each province's development path according to its predominant industry and geographical advantages.

At the micro level, the CBEC pilot zones can promote China's entrepreneurial spirit, which has been a key driver of the country's fast growth over the last four decades, while connecting domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local industries with the rest of the world.

Moreover, the latest expansion of CBEC pilot zones can support China's "go west" strategy narrowing the economic gap within the country and promoting the strategic importance of China's western provinces for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In the middle of an escalation in trade tensions with the United States, characterized by tariffs and trade barriers, an extension of the CBEC offers China an opportunity to reshape international trade patterns, strengthening the linkage not only with countries belonging to the BRI, but also with countries that are part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

The CBEC offers interesting alternatives for China to diversify and optimize supply-chain models and logistic channels, while integrating the internationalization of the country's cross-border financial payments.  

The new measures in support of a more widespread CBEC trade activity confirm that China remains committed to pursuing a high-standard opening-up with the goal of an inclusive and cooperative integration to the global community.

As the rest of the countries have learned during the last two decades, when China is part of the equation in the global trade arena, it has an impact that benefits all participants.

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