China's cross-border e-commerce is forecast to see turnover top nine trillion yuan (1.3 trillion US dollars) in 2018, according to a report released by the China E-Commerce Association.

The report, released on Sunday at the ongoing 20th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), held in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, said that the top 10 import sources of China's cross-border e-commerce trade in 2017 were Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, France, Britain, and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Cross-border e-commerce is most active in south China's Guangdong Province, followed by Beijing, east China's Zhejiang and Shandong provinces and central China's Henan Province for exports via e-commerce.

Tong Xiaomin, the chief engineer at the Information Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the Chinese government supports cross-border e-commerce with policies and infrastructure building.

Globally, however, trade protectionism in forms of tariff barriers and anti-monopoly investigations has posed negative influence on the development of cross-border e-commerce, Tong said.

He suggested that Chinese e-commerce firms and importers should heed turbulence in the international trade environment and improve their global competitiveness. Meanwhile, the e-commerce platforms should explore new market and adopt new technologies and applications to ensure the high-quality development.