The 2025 China New E-commerce Report was officially released at the main forum of the 5th China New E-Commerce Conference. The report highlights that the future of e-commerce will be shaped by cross-industry and cross-border cooperation. With tools like digital marketing, local warehouses, and online payment systems, China’s new e-commerce is opening the door for small and medium-sized businesses to join global trade, creating a new pattern of “global buying, global selling.”
According to the report, e-commerce has continuously expanded its scope and innovated its business models. “New e-commerce” refers to a data-driven industry powered by digital technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. Built around digital platforms and user needs, it represents a new form of commerce born from the integration of next-generation technologies with trade and business.
A New Engine for Global Growth
The report stresses that China’s new e-commerce is not only driving domestic consumption and industrial transformation, but also serving as a new growth engine for the global economy—through cross-border trade, digital technology exports, and supply chain integration.
The global e-commerce market continues to grow quickly. According to eMarketer’s Worldwide Retail E-commerce Forecast 2025, global retail e-commerce sales reached $6.3 trillion in 2024, up 8.8% from the year before. China’s online retail sales totaled 15.5 trillion yuan (about $2.1 trillion), roughly 33% of the world total, keeping China the world’s largest online retail market for 12 consecutive years.
China’s rapid development is driven by two forces: new formats like live commerce and instant retail that boost domestic demand, and cross-border e-commerce that connects Chinese producers with buyers worldwide. While Europe and the U.S. still dominate the high-end market, China’s e-commerce has gained an edge thanks to three advantages: technology-driven innovation, its vast consumer base, and deeply integrated supply chains.
Unlocking Foreign Trade Potential
In a challenging global environment, China’s cross-border e-commerce has shown strong growth. In 2024, imports and exports through this channel totaled 2.6 trillion yuan, up 10.8% year-on-year and making up 6% of China’s total trade. Exports were especially strong, exceeding 1.8 trillion yuan and accounting for 70% of the total.
The report highlights the rise of the “cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt” model—linking digital platforms with local industrial clusters such as clothing, home goods, and electronics. With the help of digital tools and flexible supply chains, these clusters can sell directly to global markets, moving from simple product exports to building international brands.
In 2024, China introduced policies to support this model, including establishing cross-border e-commerce pilot zones and encouraging regions to develop specialized industrial belts. At the same time, global demand for cost-effective Chinese goods continues to rise, giving traditional manufacturing new momentum and pushing “Made in China” further onto the global stage.
Silk Road E-Commerce: Building Digital Bridges
With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative, “Silk Road E-Commerce” has become a new platform for bilateral and multilateral trade cooperation. Through this framework, China is helping developing countries join the global digital trade system and supporting small businesses in accessing international markets.
By June 2025, China had formed Silk Road E-Commerce partnerships with 35 countries, created cooperation brands, built 120 national pavilions both online and offline, set up 65 direct sourcing bases in 19 countries, and held more than 100 online training sessions to support skills development and knowledge sharing.
The report notes that Silk Road E-Commerce is not only a trade platform, but also a bridge for sharing technology, logistics, and payment solutions with partner countries. These efforts are helping partners adopt new e-commerce models and grow their local digital economies.
The report concludes that China’s new e-commerce practices—driven by innovation, policy support, and international cooperation—provide a useful model for bridging the global digital divide and building a fairer digital economy.