In recent years, the scale and quality of cross-border e-commerce in China have grown from small to large, becoming a new highlight in China's foreign trade and global economic and trade fields. According to preliminary statistics, in 2024, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports will reach 2.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.8%. In the past 5 years, the scale of cross-border e-commerce trade in China has grown more than 10 times. As of now, the number of cross-border e-commerce enterprises in China has exceeded 120000, and cross-border e-commerce enterprises have registered over 30000 trademarks overseas. The potential of cross-border e-commerce in "selling globally" is further unleashed, and its advantages in "buying globally" are also continuously being utilized. The China Import and Export Fair is a barometer for China's foreign trade, as new formats enhance trade efficiency. The 135th Canton Fair, to be held in the spring of 2024, will establish a cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouse exhibition area for the first time, and will hold three consecutive exhibitions. In today's era where cross-border e-commerce has become a new trend in foreign trade transformation, the long-standing Canton Fair is adapting to the changing times and injecting new vitality into foreign trade through new formats. Luo Libin, Vice Dean of the School of Economics at Beijing International Studies University, stated that in the past decade, the growth rate of China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports has consistently exceeded the overall growth rate of China's trade, and its proportion in the total trade volume has been continuously increasing. The rapid rise of China's cross-border e-commerce platforms reflects the transformation of China's new and old advantages in foreign trade. In 2024, cross-border e-commerce will be an important focus in China's package of stable foreign trade policies. From the issuance of the "Opinions on Expanding Cross border E-commerce Exports and Promoting Overseas Warehouse Construction" in June 2024 to the release of the "Several Policy Measures to Promote Stable Growth of Foreign Trade" in November, relevant policies focus on the problems and difficulties encountered in the development of cross-border e-commerce, actively promote the development of cross-border e-commerce, optimize the structure and scale of foreign trade, and continuously create new advantages for international economic cooperation. Data shows that last year, China's major foreign trade provinces (cities) faced pressure and made steady progress in overall scale, with hard won achievements. The annual import and export scale of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Beijing was 9.11 trillion yuan, 5.62 trillion yuan, 5.26 trillion yuan, 4.27 trillion yuan, and 3.61 trillion yuan, respectively. The rapid rise of cross-border e-commerce is adding strength to its development. In the cross-border e-commerce enterprise warehouse of Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone, packages of different trade modes are combined and packaged according to orders, completed consolidation and quick exit from the warehouse, and prepared to take the next day's flight to various parts of the world. At present, Guangzhou Port has attracted over 1000 cross-border e-commerce enterprises to conduct business, forming a complete cross-border e-commerce ecosystem with comprehensive policies, platforms, logistics, and financial support. From 2015 to 2023, the import and export of cross-border e-commerce in Guangdong Province jumped from 11.3 billion yuan to 843.3 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 71.4%, accounting for more than one-third of the national cross-border e-commerce import and export proportion. In recent years, Shanghai Customs has expanded its cross-border e-commerce export channels, opened up the "9610" sea freight export channel for cross-border e-commerce, piloted the operation of postal cross-border e-commerce export business, promoted the cross-border e-commerce retail export cross customs return supervision model, and continuously improved the overall efficiency of cross-border e-commerce logistics operations at Shanghai Port. According to Shanghai Customs statistics, the number of cross-border e-commerce export orders at Shanghai ports increased by 12.4% year-on-year in 2024. In 2025, China's foreign trade will face significant challenges from external environmental uncertainty. According to Sang Baichuan, Dean of the Institute of International Economics at the University of International Business and Economics, the development of digital trade has greatly improved the efficiency of cross-border e-commerce, reduced information asymmetry between supply and demand, and saved transaction costs. Cross border e-commerce will continue to be an important manifestation of China's new momentum in foreign trade. AI technology expands new opportunities in the market. By 2024, the annual import and export of cross-border e-commerce will increase by 1 trillion yuan compared to 2020. Among the nearly 700000 business entities with import and export records in China, there are over 120000 cross-border e-commerce business entities. The number of cross-border e-commerce operators continues to grow, reaching a new high. In addition to the overall growth, there have also been some new trends and changes in the development of cross-border e-commerce. The deep popularization and application of AI technology provide new possibilities for cross-border e-commerce to accelerate the export of Chinese products. Numerous cross-border e-commerce platforms have launched a series of AI tools tailored specifically for cross-border merchants. These tools cover multiple aspects such as text translation, keyword extraction, product detail page writing, market analysis, etc., providing merchants with comprehensive intelligent services. Products optimized and published through AI tools are more likely to be searched and purchased by overseas buyers. Data shows that over 30000 small and medium-sized enterprises worldwide have used Alibaba International's AI business assistant. Experts say that cross-border e-commerce often faces language and cultural differences. Artificial intelligence can efficiently understand customer inquiries, provide uninterrupted services, handle multiple language issues, and help sellers provide high-quality services at low cost. Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce also provides opportunities for goods from around the world to enter the Chinese market. In Zhejiang, during the "Double 11" period in 2024, cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods in Ningbo area are still mainly food, beauty products, and health products, with these best-selling products coming from 102 countries and regions. The categories of cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods in Ningbo area have covered nearly 600 tax numbered goods. In Shanxi, since the opening of cross-border e-commerce online shopping bonded retail import business, Taiyuan Wusu Comprehensive Bonded Zone has imported over 2000 types of goods, further meeting the diversified and diversified shopping needs of domestic consumers. In the cross-border e-commerce supervision warehouse of Beijing Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Zone and Capital International Airport Port Express Center, on the automatic sorting conveyor belt, imported beauty packages are ready for shipment one by one. Dozens of trucks queue up outside the warehouse to enter the area, and boxes of goods are delivered to consumers at the fastest speed. During the "Double 11" period in 2024, the retail import and export value of cross-border e-commerce in Beijing exceeded 85 million yuan, of which the import value was about 59 million yuan. Data shows that in December 2024, China imported consumer goods worth 167.82 billion yuan, a new high in nearly 21 months, with a month on month increase of 14.4%. Wang Lingjun, Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Customs, introduced that in 2024, China will have import and export records for almost all countries and regions in the United Nations statistical grouping, with an increase of 1 and 4 export and import partners respectively compared to 2023, achieving import and export growth for more than 160 partners. The development of cross-border e-commerce, which shapes new advantages in international competition, is closely linked to the global digital wave. This is not only reflected in the efficiency and convenience of transactions, but also in the deep application of technology in supply chain management, overseas warehouse layout, brand building, and other aspects. Faced with complex and severe external situations, cross-border e-commerce enterprises respond to market changes through innovation and constantly shape new competitive advantages, injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of China's foreign trade. In 2024, China issued the "Opinions of the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on the Reform, Innovation and Development of Digital Trade", which proposed to promote the construction of comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce and support the development of "cross-border e-commerce+industrial belts". More and more traditional foreign trade enterprises are based on local characteristic industrial belts, promoting the "online upgrading" of their own brands and continuously enhancing their overseas market expansion capabilities. The small commodity industry belt in Yiwu, Zhejiang uses cross-border e-commerce platforms to expand the international market and achieve the "big export" of small commodities; The electronic product industry belt in Shenzhen, Guangdong has built a strong supply chain system in the field of cross-border e-commerce through technological innovation and rapid response capabilities; The footwear and apparel industry belt in Quanzhou, Fujian has transformed through cross-border e-commerce, directly connecting with overseas consumer demand and enhancing the brand's international influence. Hong Yong, a think tank expert at the China Digital Integration 50 Forum, said that the development model of "cross-border e-commerce+industrial belt" not only helps to enhance the international competitiveness of local industries, but also promotes the coordinated development of regional economies. This model can effectively utilize the cluster effect of enterprises within the industrial belt, reduce the operating costs of individual enterprises, and improve the flexibility and response speed of the overall supply chain. More and more cross-border e-commerce platforms are starting to optimize logistics processes through intelligent technology, improving the transparency and efficiency of the supply chain. In the future, cross-border e-commerce will further rely on emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to achieve digital upgrading of the entire supply chain. Luo Libin stated that in order to further leverage the new advantages of China's foreign trade reflected in cross-border e-commerce, policies should continue to promote the development of the digital economy, encourage enterprises to boldly innovate in the application of digital technology, and improve the mutual promotion mechanism between technology application and business model innovation. In 2025, China's cross-border e-commerce will face a more complex international trade environment. Experts suggest that the business environment should be further optimized and policy support should be provided to help enterprises cope with uncertainty; Enterprises need to enhance their innovation capabilities, improve product quality and service levels, actively expand into emerging markets, and build diversified market layouts to enhance their risk resistance and international competitiveness. At the same time, it is necessary to continuously expand international cooperation space, actively participate in the formulation of international rules for cross-border e-commerce, and provide enterprises with broader international market opportunities. (New Society)