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By Yin Lei

The cross-border e-commerce sector in China expects to expand further as this country issues more supportive policies, according to a report by the Economic Information Daily on Wednesday.

In 2017, this sector again saw robust cross-border flows of goods, registering a total trading volume of RMB 8.06 trillion, 20.3 percent higher than in the previous year, as shown by the statistics of the China International Electronic Commerce Center (CIECC).

This momentum is set to continue under the supportive policies already available or to be rolled out soon.

On July 1, China reduced the average import tariffs on 1,449 taxable items from 15.7 percent to 6.9 percent. The good news for e-commerce platforms is that more consumers may turn to them for foreign products instead of going abroad for a shopping spree.

With this cut, the import-related costs are estimated to drop by about 40 percent, narrowing the price gap between goods imported and those sold in foreign markets, commented Fang Ge, an analyst of the CIECC.

On July 13, China’s state council decided to set up a new group of 22 pilot e-commerce zones alongside the existing 13 ones approved three years ago.

The centerpiece of these pilot e-commerce zones builds on the six systems, including those for information sharing, financial services, smart logistics, business ethics, statistical monitoring, and risk prevention, as well as the two platforms for online services and offline industrial parks, as introduced by Zhang Li, an official of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Best practices in such pilot zones will be learned and promoted across the country.

The Ministry of Commerce is also known to be working now on new regulatory policies for the e-commerce sector.

These policies, designed to replace the current regulatory model to be abolished by the end of this year, are expected to be more adapted to the realities and characteristics of this sector, such as fewer requirements for documentation and more flexibility in the positive list, among other possible changes.