Editor's note:  Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba Group, one of the world's largest e-commerce businesses. This article is an excerpt from Jack Ma's speech at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva on October 2. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

I want to discuss one of the issues that the world is concerned about – global trade. I think we need to reform the current trade system rather than give up on trade. We need to improve the existing rules instead of creating more rules. After all, the trade system and rules should benefit more people and more countries, providing universal benefits to countries in the world.

I believe that new technologies bring us new challenges, new opportunities.

People have been discussing e-commerce for the past 20 years, but there has been no substantive result. But Chinese entrepreneurs didn't just talk the talk but also walked the walk. Tens of millions of businesses and young people have benefited from e-commerce.

In the next three or four decades, the Internet will cover all areas, and e-commerce is just one of the early developed areas. Trade will undergo tremendous reform and change. In the past, trade was carried out at the trade fairs; in the future, 99 percent trade will happen online. The trade in the past was done through containers, and the future trade will be done through small parcels.

Five years ago, China only shipped abroad 1 million parcels a year, but now there are 1 million parcels shipped out every day. There will be  "Made in Internet" in the future. C2B, instead of B2C, will be the dominating business model.

The past trade rules were set by the top 20 percent of large companies because they have powered the world's prosperity. In the future, millions of small businesses and consumers will drive the economic growth, and new trade rules will benefit 80 percent of developing countries, small businesses, young people and women. If they succeed, the world will succeed.

The problem faced by globalization today is not caused by globalization itself. It's because globalization remains immature and needs further improvement. Our responsibility today is not to reverse globalization but to improve it. I have three suggestions.

First, we must carry out reforms. 80 percent of the business in the future will be e-commerce. E-commerce is not about e-commerce companies but about all kinds of business models. E-commerce must be universally beneficial, and the legal rules we make must be business-centered and future-oriented. Unfortunately, it is really difficult to get the trade ministers of over a hundred countries to reach a consensus on a set of trade rules. This is also why the WTO is facing many problems. 

Many countries have begun to take things into their own hand by introducing e-commerce rules that serve their own views and interests. They want to repeal the minimum tax exemption, limit the flow of data, and force e-commerce platforms to assume excessive obligations. As a result, e-commerce faces great challenges. 

We need more action taken by the WTO, and we need a version 2.0 of the WTO to reduce redundant rules and make e-commerce more concise and convenient. We want more nimble rules for all small businesses, young people and countries. If the regulatory rules are so many that they can be compiled into a thick book, it would be impossible to trade. 

We hope that future rules of Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), which is an international agreement intended to remove trade barriers for small- and medium-size enterprises in e-commerce, are boiled down to three pages. The reason we promote eWTP is that we believe in free trade and globalization.

Second, we want to benefit everyone. Trade protectionism will occur without universal benefits. We need to protect trade and keep off protectionism.

Being universally beneficial means giving all developing countries, young people and women the opportunity to participate in trade, so that they can sell, shop, pay for and get things delivered anytime and anywhere. In eWTP, T means trade, tourism, training and technology. We want to make sure that everyone who wants to trade can have access to the market, money, finance and everything they need.

The third suggestion I would like to make is cooperation. No one can stop the technological revolution. All rules must be forward-looking. We want to make sure that all rules and laws are flexible, because business and innovation are developing rapidly. I believe that the rules of the future should not be dominated by government agencies alone. Instead, they should be made together by the government, the private sector and all stakeholders.

As to the trade war sparked by the United States, I personally don't like it. I don't think business people like it. Today, for the corporate world, the trade war is like parents bickering for children while they don't know what the kids really want.

Trade is not a weapon and shall not be used for war; it should keep global peace. No one wants to get involved in a trade war. As I said at the United Nations in New York, we don't need wars. Even if a war has to happen, it should directed to fight poverty, disease and environmental pollution. 

Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to ensure that the rules and laws governing e-commerce should protect trade and globalization and provide universal benefits to the world.

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