WIC holds symposium on Practical Guide for Promoting E-Commerce Development in Global South Economies

World Internet Conference (WIC) held a symposium in Beijing on May 9 on the Practical Guide for Promoting E-Commerce Development in Global South Economies, which is being developed by a specialized team of the WIC.

The symposium was conducted both on-site and online — bringing together members of the WIC Specialized Committee on E-commerce, experts in the e-commerce sector and other participants to engage in in-depth discussions on the report’s framework and core content. 

The event was hosted by the WIC Specialized Committee on E-commerce and co-organized by the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang.

Based on the different stages of e-commerce development in Global South economies, the report aims to establish an evaluation indicator system for their e-commerce development and propose differentiated development strategies and implementation pathways. This report is designed to help Global South economies build e-commerce ecosystems suited to their national conditions.

During the discussion session, participating experts generally agreed that the report carries significant value. 

In light of the current international economic landscape and e-commerce development practices, they offered suggestions for improvement from various perspectives — including the report’s framework design, indicator system and institutional rules.

Experts noted that e-commerce in Global South economies is currently undergoing rapid growth, which is of great significance for promoting global economic growth, narrowing regional development gaps and advancing sustainable development. 

At the same time, however, common challenges remain pressing, such as inadequate digital infrastructure, insufficient platform support and limited mutual recognition of relevant rules and standards.

To address these issues, experts suggested that the report should further focus on shared challenges in e-commerce development in Global South economies, strengthen cooperation mechanisms in such areas as the application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, legislation in emerging sectors and regulatory sandboxes, propose differentiated pathways for e-commerce development and deepen international cooperation. 

These efforts, they said, would help products from Global South countries enter international markets and support the robust growth of e-commerce in these economies.

A WIC official said the drafting team would fully incorporate the opinions and suggestions raised by participants, improve the report framework and further enrich its research and analysis. 

Once completed, the report will be officially released at relevant events held by the WIC international organization.

Participants included Wang Jinzhen, former vice-chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; Xue Hong, advisory member of the UN Asia-Pacific Expert Network on Paperless Trade; Hadji Abdourahmane Ndione, chair of ISO/DEVCO; and Raymond Mamattah, founder and president of the E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA).

Among other participants were Ayobangira Safari Nshuti, executive member of Africa Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG); Somnuk Keretho, professor of Kasetsart University (Thailand); Wang Ying, vice-chair of ChinaEU; Song Mingshun, chair of ISO/TC 321 Transaction Assurance in E-commerce; Du Guochen, deputy director of E-commerce Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation; and Lin Wanti, director of the eWTP Policy Research Center.

Experts and academics from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Renmin University of China and the Central University of Finance and Economics also took part in the event.