SOEs to strengthen e-commerce business development

China's State-owned enterprises will strengthen innovation in the e-commerce sector to propel growth in China's digital economy, according to experts and business leaders on a sideline forum of the ongoing 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services.

The forum, focusing on SOEs and e-commerce, was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing municipal government.

The e-commerce innovation industry alliance of SOEs and State Grid Digital Technology Holding Co Ltd co-organized the event with several other organizations. The State Grid Digital Technology Holding Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Grid, is the council board director of the e-commerce innovation industry alliance of SOEs.

The forum aimed to promote digital transformation of SOEs, and therefore help accelerate industrialization in the digital sector and the digitalization of industries.

Tang Min, counselor of the State Council, said at the event that digitalization provides new economic development opportunities, and SOEs must encourage innovations while increasing tolerance for failures in innovations to press ahead in digitalization. 

State Grid Digital Technology Holding Co Ltd released at the forum a report on the periodical achievements of an action plan for promoting innovational development of e-commerce business of SOEs. The action plan was announced last year at the CIFTIS.

According to the report, SOEs have made substantial progress in fields such as joint procurement, demand and supply balance, and intelligent logistics, to promote innovational development of e-commerce business and therefore tap the potential of digital upgrades and transformation of the Chinese economy. 

An industrial e-commerce platform was also announced at the forum to be officially established, which aims to promote industrial and supply chain coordination and cooperation among SOEs for development of their e-commerce business.