Under the theme of “Digitalization of Cross-border E-commerce Boosts Common Development of RCEP,” the 2022 Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Conference was held in Guangzhou, China on August 26.
At the opening, Xiaojun Grace Wang, Trust Fund Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) highlighted the significant role that cross-border e-commerce plays by demonstrating great potential in advancing the integration of developing countries into global value chains.
She also underlined that regional agreements and mechanisms can be effective in facilitating and catalyzing common markets, coordinated policy, legal frameworks, and shared standards:
“With the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) entered into force, it will bring new opportunities for South-South and triangular cooperation among its member countries and generate new confidence into global economic recovery and sustainable development.”
Ms. Wang took the opportunity to introduce the Cities sectoral cluster on E-commerce and Digitalization & Smart cities hosted at South South Galaxy platform and encouraged partners from Southern countries to engage actively in the knowledge sharing and South South cooperation through the digital platform.
In Partnership with the China Association of Trade in Services (CATIS) and under the framework of the UNOSSC Cities Project, the report “Innovative Experiences of Cities in South-South Cooperation in Cross-border E-commerce and Digital Innovation” was launched at the conference.
The report presents experiences of cities in the global South in cross-border e-commerce and digital innovations for sustainable development in the context of South-South and triangular cooperation. It captures a summary of the case studies shared by the speakers during 15 webinar series, which were conducted to help promote knowledge sharing and strengthen cooperation on cross-border e-commerce among developing countries.