The second Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) opened in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday with theme "Digital Trade Connecting the World." It is the only national-level international exhibition in China themed on digital trade.

The internet-based economy has become a major growth engine for the country marching toward modernization. The number of internet users in China has reached 1.079 billion as of June 2023, with an internet penetration rate of 76.4 percent.

In the first three quarters of 2023, China's digitally delivered service trade reached 1.81 trillion yuan (about $250 billion), while online sales revenue stood at 10.8 trillion yuan. The transaction volume for China's cross-border e-commerce in the first nine months was 1.7 trillion yuan.

In 2022, the value of China's digital economy increased by 10.3 percent year-on-year to 50.2 trillion yuan, accounting for 41.5 percent of the country's GDP and ranking second globally.

During the five-day expo, over 100 activities will be held, and over 100 cutting-edge products and services in areas of digital trade will make their debut.

The exhibition area this year is around 100,000 square meters. Over 800 enterprises are participating in the offline exhibition. The event is attended by 15,000 professional purchasers and 68 international organizations and foreign business associations.

The launch of the Global Digital Trade Expo annually was announced at the third Belt and Road Forum. The first Global Digital Trade Expo was held in Hangzhou last year, attended by approximately 800 domestic and international businesses.

During the first expo, 315 products from 286 firms made their debut, and 89 unicorn projects were signed for a total investment of 150 billion yuan.