China's Ministry of Commerce announced 16 new national e-commerce demonstration bases on Saturday.

Speaking during the China E-commerce Convention, a sub-forum at the ongoing 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, emphasized the importance of fostering a deep integration between e-commerce platforms and the real economy.

He said further efforts are expected to give full play to the leading role of national e-commerce demonstration bases and nurture internationally competitive e-commerce industry clusters and leading enterprises, which help empower the growth of the real economy.

Chen noted that in 2022, China's digital economy surpassed 50 trillion yuan ($6.89 trillion) for the first time, accounting for 41.5 percent of the country's GDP. E-commerce constitutes the largest and most extensive component within the digital economy.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, in recent years, China's e-commerce sector has continuously innovated and grown in scale and quality, which has supported the employment of nearly 70 million people. China has maintained its position as the world's largest online retail market for ten consecutive years, and its role and significance in the overall global digital development landscape have become increasingly prominent.

Jiang Xiaojuan, president of the China Society of Industrial Economics, said that in the first half of this year, China's international e-commerce growth rate exceeded 16 percent.

"E-commerce, through digital technology, optimized international transactions and production processes, reduced transaction and production costs, enhanced supply and demand matching, and efficiently allocated various cross-border resources. It played a crucial role in facilitating foreign trade and two-way flows of cross-border capital for China," she said.