Recently, six Chinese authorities including the Ministry of Commerce issued the **Guiding Opinions on Better Serving the Real Economy and Promoting the High-Quality Development of E-Commerce** (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). The document aims to advance the high-quality development, high-level opening-up and high-efficiency governance of e-commerce, so as to better serve the consolidation and expansion of the real economy. In recent years, China’s e-commerce sector has witnessed vigorous development. China has remained the world’s largest online retail market for 13 consecutive years, covering 26 million domestic merchants and serving 3.2 billion consumers worldwide. An official from the Department of E-Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce noted that the Opinions put forward 16 measures in five areas to build a framework system for the high-quality development of e-commerce. In terms of empowering efficiency and effectiveness, the Opinions set out three measures: supporting the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, deepening rural e-commerce, and fostering industrial e-commerce, so as to leverage the strengths of e-commerce to consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy. To strengthen innovation-driven growth, three measures are proposed: accelerating technological innovation and application, vigorously promoting quality consumption, and actively building integrated carriers. These measures aim to deepen online-offline integration and help achieve a dynamic balance between supply and demand at a higher level. This includes developing "AI + e-commerce", guiding e-commerce enterprises to strengthen the R&D and application of technologies such as artificial intelligence large models, optimize consumer experience, reduce operating costs and improve circulation efficiency. For advancing high-level opening-up, four measures are put forward: promoting cross-border e-commerce, expanding the "Silk Road E-Commerce" initiative, accelerating institutional opening-up, and promoting alignment with international rules, to jointly build and share China’s large e-commerce market. This involves encouraging e-commerce enterprises to establish direct sourcing bases overseas, expand imports of high-quality and distinctive products, and create an e-commerce "through train" for global quality goods to enter the Chinese market. To foster a sound ecosystem, the Opinions outline three measures: tightening the responsibilities of platforms, strengthening regular supervision, and guiding compliant overseas expansion, to promote win-win development among all stakeholders in the ecosystem. In terms of enhancing support and safeguards, three measures are proposed: optimizing the supply of financial products, unlocking the value of data factors, and strengthening targeted talent training, to continuously consolidate the foundation for e-commerce development. Source: China News Service