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. ■