June in Paris embodies the spirit of openness, innovation, and collaboration. The 6th China-Europe (France) Cross-border E-commerce Forum was grandly held at the Pullman Hotel in Paris on June 16 local time. This year’s forum was jointly organized by the China (Hangzhou) Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Cross-border E-commerce, the Hangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau of Zhejiang Province, the Hangzhou Overseas Chinese Federation, People’s Daily Overseas Edition, and the European Hangzhou Association (General Chamber of Commerce), with co-organization by New Europe (France) Group and the French Media Center of People’s Daily Overseas Edition. Government representatives, industry experts, platform enterprises, brand owners, and service providers from China and Europe gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on topics such as brand globalization, artificial intelligence, and logistics supply chains, exploring trends in digital trade and innovative opportunities in cross-border e-commerce.
The forum featured multiple segments including keynote speeches, thematic discussions, corporate presentations, brand exhibition areas, and signing ceremonies. Participating enterprises covered the entire cross-border e-commerce industry ecosystem, encompassing renowned brands, retail e-commerce platforms, B2B trading companies, postal and international logistics service providers, cross-border payment institutions, investment and financing organizations, as well as e-commerce technology innovation firms. According to organizers, this year’s forum is expected to attract over 50 representatives from government and industry bodies, more than 50 China-based buyers, over 100 European brands, and more than 300 cross-border e-commerce service providers from both China and Europe. Compared with previous editions, this forum has innovatively introduced a China-Europe Cross-border E-commerce Talent Recruitment Fair, offering on-site recruitment and exchange opportunities for international students and professionals in Europe, thereby providing robust talent support for the development of the cross-border e-commerce sector. During the event, a sub-forum titled “Civilizational Dialogue: From Cultural Heritage to Industrial Narratives – Hangzhou Promotion Event” was also held. Shi Shaojing, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in France, stated in her address that the global economy is undergoing accelerated digital transformation, and cross-border e-commerce has become a vital force in international trade development and a key link in global industrial and supply chain cooperation. Gilles-Henri Garo, Vice President of the French National Association for Industry Promotion and former French Ambassador to Nepal, noted that France’s industrial sector lags behind in digitalization, and cross-border e-commerce serves as an industrial accelerator. France expressed its desire to strengthen AI-related cooperation with China to jointly foster high-quality, sustainable cross-border trade. Since its establishment in 2017, the China-France Cross-border E-commerce Forum has become a vital bridge connecting political and business circles of both countries, fostering mutual trust and benefit while strengthening their traditional friendship.
The successful hosting of this forum serves as another significant testament to China’s unwavering commitment to advancing high-level opening-up and actively expanding economic and trade cooperation with countries worldwide. 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, during which China has explicitly identified “upholding openness and promoting win-win cooperation across multiple sectors” as its core annual task, placing “steadily advancing institutional openness” at the forefront of its opening-up strategy. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan further emphasizes the need to “align with international high-standard economic and trade rules to expand openness and promote compatibility between domestic and international rules, regulations, management practices, and standards.” China is shifting its approach to openness from free circulation of goods to alignment of rules and institutions, and from factor-based openness to institution-based openness. The Ministry of Commerce has clearly stated that in 2026, China will steadfastly advance high-level opening-up, foster innovative and balanced trade development, and strive not only to be the “world factory” but also the “world market,” leveraging its vast market size to create broader opportunities for products and services from around the globe. In terms of specific measures, the Ministry of Commerce has introduced and implemented the 2025 edition of the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment, adding a net total of 205 encouraged categories, with focused policy support for foreign enterprises in advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech industries, energy conservation, and environmental protection. In 2026, the Ministry of Commerce will also organize over 100 “Export to China” events to promote high-quality products from various countries to Chinese businesses and consumers, providing platforms and bridges for international companies to expand exports to China. In May 2026, China officially implemented a zero-tariff policy across all 53 African diplomatic allies, covering every industry with unilateral benefits that do not require reciprocity. The inaugural China-Europe Railway Express (Changsha) cross-border e-commerce special train transported 50 containers of high-quality domestic goods to Europe; JD.com’s cross-border platform JoyBuy is set to open to third-party sellers, further expanding its presence in the European market; and the share of orders from AliExpress’s European local warehouses exceeded 50% for the first time. These measures demonstrate China’s firm commitment to addressing various uncertainties through high-level opening-up and sharing development opportunities with countries worldwide. In June 2026, the United States, under Section 301 of its Trade Act of 1974 and domestic labor regulations governing import supply chains, proposed imposing additional tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from approximately 60 economies and planned to raise existing tariff rates on imported automobiles from the EU. The practical effectiveness of such tariff adjustments in protecting specific domestic industries remains controversial, while they may also have ripple effects on the stability of global supply chains and weaken the U.S.’ s negotiating position and rule-making capacity within the multilateral trading system in the medium to long term.
China is committed to institutional openness, actively aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules to foster a transparent, stable, and predictable institutional environment. Through regular platforms such as the China-EU Cross-border E-commerce Forum, the China International Import Expo (CIIE), and the China International Digital Trade Fair, China continues to deepen international cooperation. As emphasized at the Central Economic Work Conference, China will address various uncertainties with the certainty of high-level opening-up. Amid numerous uncertainties facing the global economy, China mitigates external risk shocks through a stable and predictable institutional framework and addresses policy concerns in the international community via regular cooperation and exchange platforms—this certainty represents one of the most scarce public goods in today’s world.