BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo, an event that promotes digital trade and industrial cooperation among partners, will take place on Sept. 25 to 29 in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, with preparations having been essentially finalized.

Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping said at a press conference that up to now, the expo has registered more than 1,700 exhibitors. The total exhibition area will cover 155,000 square meters, which is equivalent to the size of roughly 20 football pitches.

International exhibitors account for more than 20 percent of all exhibitors, with over 70 of them being Fortune Global 500 companies, Sheng said.

The guest of honor countries, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, will set up national pavilions to showcase achievements in digital economy development. Meanwhile, more than 30 international organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, will also attend the event, he said.

"Digital trade represents the deep integration of digital technology and international trade. It has demonstrated strong resilience and potential by expanding trade boundaries, innovating trade models, and empowering trade entities," Sheng said.

He revealed that China saw its cross-border e-commerce trade reach 1.3 trillion yuan (about 183 billion U.S. dollars) in value in the first half of 2025, marking a record high.

During the expo, a series of research reports on global digital trade development and China's digital trade development will be released. More than 30 business matchmaking activities for industrial cooperation as well as investment and financing will also take place, Sheng said.

In efforts to strengthen pragmatic cooperation and industrial development cooperation, thematic events featuring "Silk Road e-commerce day" and "digital trade African day" will continue to be held. A new event featuring BRICS economic zone cooperation will also be held, Sheng added.

Hangzhou, famed for its picturesque West Lake, is also known as the "capital of e-commerce" due to its strength in digital economy. The city is home to two-thirds of China's cross-border e-commerce platforms, and its cross-border payment and settlement volume accounts for around 40 percent of national total. Moreover, its e-commerce trade industry connects with more than 200 countries and regions around the world, according to Yao Gaoyuan, mayor of Hangzhou.

While discussing the preparations the city is making for the upcoming expo at Thursday's press conference, Yao said Hangzhou will make every effort to ensure the event is a huge success.

The increasing interest from global partners is evident in the rising number of registrations. Yao said more than 10,000 foreign merchants have so far registered for participation, up 54 percent compared to last year.

Lu Shan, vice governor of Zhejiang Province, said this year's expo will also feature the integration of digital trade and AI, with the expo planning to showcase many globally leading computing power devices, large models, and embodied intelligent robots, as well as over 100 AI applications for diverse sectors.

He said the expo will offer a window into how AI and digital trade can work together to achieve positive outcomes. "AI can make the transaction process of digital trade more streamlined and efficient. It can also provide innovative products and services for clients."

The official offered a case in point, saying that a Zhejiang-based company will be bringing a one-stop digital dental service solution to the expo, with the company utilizing a range of technologies including AI-assisted dental mold design and 3D printing.

Revealing the government's policy orientation for digital trade in general, Sheng said at the press conference that the government will further expand opening up in digital trade-related sectors such as telecommunications, the Internet and culture, and will encourage foreign investors to increase investment in the digital sector and improve the convenience of investment and operations for foreign-invested enterprises engaged in digital trade. ■