The fifth Global Digital Trade Expo: what Hangzhou’s AI-themed edition offers foreign digital businesses
- The fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) will run 23–27 September 2026 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang; at the State Council Information Office press conference on 7 September the Ministry of Commerce confirmed 121 countries and regions and 29 international organisations will attend, with international exhibitors above 20% of the total.
第五届全球数字贸易博览会（数贸会）将于2026年9月23日至27日在浙江杭州举办；商务部在9月7日国新办发布会上介绍，已有121个国家和地区、29个国际组织的代表确认出席，国际展商占比超过20%。
- Malaysia and Hungary are guest countries of honour, overseas delegations already exceed the total of all previous editions, and pre-registered international procurement orders stand at USD 977 million with total domestic and international orders of RMB 19.5 billion.
本届主宾国为马来西亚、匈牙利，海外展团数量已超过往届总和；预筹国际采购订单达9.77亿美元，国内外订单总额195亿元人民币。
- Artificial intelligence is the structural theme — the annual topic is “Meet the AI Future at the GDTE” — with AI companies accounting for more than one third of exhibitors and a dedicated Token (词元) zone organising the display along the compute–model–application chain.
人工智能是结构性主题：年度主题为”在数贸会遇见AI未来”，人工智能参展企业占比超过三分之一，并率先设立词元（Token）专区，按”算力底座—模型服务—应用场景”全产业链逻辑布展。
- The expo will publish flagship reports including the Global Digital Trade Development Report 2026 (a formal UN-agency publication) and the China Digital Trade Development Report 2026, plus the Silk Road E-commerce cooperation report and BRICK special-economic-zone outcomes.
展会期间将发布旗舰报告：《全球数字贸易发展报告2026》（联合国机构正式出版物）、《中国数字贸易发展报告2026》，以及”丝路电商”合作发展报告与金砖国家特殊经济区成果。
- Underlying the expo is a policy architecture the Ministry of Commerce summarised on stage: the national opinion on digital trade reform and innovation, national digital trade demonstration zones, and an annual expo platform — with China’s digitally-delivered services trade growing 11.2% a year between 2016 and 2025, above the global average.
支撑展会的是商务部在会上概括的政策架构：《关于数字贸易改革创新发展的意见》、国家数字贸易示范区与每年举办的数贸会平台——2016至2025年中国数字化交付服务进出口年均增速11.2%，高于全球平均水平1.8个百分点。
- For foreign e-commerce, AI and digital-services companies, the expo is the annual market-entry and partnership venue: cross-border e-commerce tracks (Silk Road E-commerce Day), capital-matching events with state guidance funds, and first-release showcases are concentrated in one week in Hangzhou.
对外资电商、人工智能与数字服务企业而言，数贸会是一年一度的市场进入与合作对接场：跨境电商主题日（丝路电商日）、与国家服务贸易创新发展引导基金等资本的对接活动、首发首秀展示集中在一周之内。
The fifth Global Digital Trade Expo: what Hangzhou’s AI-themed edition offers foreign digital businesses | 第五届数贸会：杭州AI主题届会给外资数字企业的机会清单
Overview
The fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (全球数字贸易博览会, GDTE) opens 23 September 2026 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, running to 27 September with public days from the 24th. At the State Council Information Office press conference on 7 September, Vice-Minister of Commerce Ying Dong framed the expo as China’s only national-level, international, specialised fair dedicated to digital trade, and set out the scale and the theme of this edition: “Meet the AI Future at the GDTE” (在数贸会遇见AI未来).
For foreign-invested e-commerce, digital-services and AI companies watching China’s digital market, the expo concentrates policy signalling, procurement, capital matching and rule-making output into a single venue.
The scale and the audience
Organisers report an exhibition area of 170,000 square metres, with 121 countries and regions and 29 international organisations confirmed to attend and Malaysia and Hungary as guest countries of honour. International exhibitors exceed 20% of the total, and the number of overseas delegations has already surpassed the sum of all previous editions. Pre-arranged international procurement orders reach USD 977 million, with total domestic and international orders of RMB 19.5 billion; nearly 40,000 professional buyers have registered, more than 12,000 of them international.
AI as the organising theme
The structural change this year is the AI focus: artificial-intelligence exhibitors account for more than one third of participants, and the expo has set up a dedicated Token (词元) zone for the first time, arranged along the full chain of compute base, model services and application scenarios. Programming includes the World AI Open-Source Competition, an embodied-intelligence application challenge and a global brain-computer interface innovation contest.
On the governance side, themed activities include the BRICS Special Economic Zones Hangzhou Dialogue, the Silk Road E-commerce Day (with its annual cooperation report and overseas e-commerce training sessions) and the Africa Digital Trade Day, alongside flagship report launches: the Global Digital Trade Development Report 2026 as a formal UN-agency publication, the China Digital Trade Development Report 2026, and sector-specific standards and rankings.
The policy architecture behind the expo
Ministry of Commerce framing at the press conference placed the expo inside a three-part architecture: the national opinion on digital trade reform and innovation (《关于数字贸易改革创新发展的意见》) as the structural framework; national digital trade demonstration zones for clustered development; and the annual expo as the public platform for co-operation. The ministry cited World Trade Organization-based data showing China’s digitally-delivered services imports and exports growing 11.2% per year from 2016 to 2025, 1.8 percentage points above the global average.
The expo also connects to capital: matchmaking is planned with the national service-trade innovation-development guidance fund and social venture capital to pull private capital into digital-trade industries.
What this means for foreign digital businesses
- Treat the expo as a market-scan window. With 121 countries present and international exhibitors above 20%, one visit covers China’s digital-trade supply chain — cloud, models, tokens, cross-border e-commerce infrastructure — plus the foreign competitors and partners active in it.
- Silk Road E-commerce is the e-commerce entry track. The Silk Road E-commerce Day programme and its cooperation report define where China’s government-backed cross-border e-commerce corridors are expanding; platforms and brands seeking corridor access should attend the sessions and the overseas training components.
- AI market signals concentrate here. The Token zone and the AI exhibition share make the expo the densest annual read on which models, chips and applications are being commercialised in China — and on which are open to foreign partnership.
- Data and rules output matters. Flagship reports, standards and cooperation initiatives released at the expo prefigure the regulatory and standards agenda for digital trade; legal and compliance teams should harvest the documents.
- Capital channels are open. With the state guidance fund and social VCs running matchmaking, foreign-invested digital businesses in China can meet the financing infrastructure alongside the commercial one.
Sources
- 全球数字贸易博览会官方网站 — 开放加码，创新提速！第五届数贸会活动矩阵扩容升级（2026年9月，含主题、活动矩阵与报告发布安排）: https://www.gdte.org.cn/content/content_9300512.html
- 中国经济网 — 第五届数贸会：在中国遇见AI未来（2026年9月8日，国新办9月7日发布会内容与商务部介绍）: https://www.ce.cn/cysc/newmain//yc/jsxw/202609/t20260908_3199420.shtml
- 浙江在线 — 高端论坛、顶级大赛、产业活动……第五届数贸会还有”新玩法”（2026年9月15日，浙江省商务厅介绍）: https://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/zjnews/202609/t20260915_31909449.shtml
Related reading
- see also: cross-border e-commerce market entry for foreign platforms (cross-border-ecommerce-entry)
- see also: data export compliance for e-commerce operators (data-export-ecommerce)
第五届数贸会：杭州AI主题届会给外资数字企业的机会清单
概述
第五届全球数字贸易博览会（数贸会）将于2026年9月23日在浙江杭州开幕，27日闭幕（对外开放时间为24日下午至27日）。在9月7日的国新办新闻发布会上，商务部副部长鄢东把数贸会定位为中国唯一以数字贸易为主题的国家级、国际性、专业型展会，并介绍了本届的主题与规模：“在数贸会遇见AI未来”。
对关注中国数字市场的外资电商、数字服务与人工智能企业而言，数贸会把政策信号、采购、资本对接与规则产出集中在一个场域。
规模与受众
组委会介绍，本届展览总面积17万平方米，121个国家和地区、29个国际组织确认出席，马来西亚、匈牙利担任主宾国。国际展商占比超过20%，海外展团数量已超过往届总和。预筹国际采购订单达9.77亿美元，国内外订单总额195亿元人民币；近4万名专业客商报名参会，其中国际客商超1.2万名。
AI作为组织主题
本届的结构性变化是人工智能主线：AI参展企业占比超过三分之一，并首次设立词元（Token）专区，按算力底座—模型服务—应用场景全产业链逻辑布展。同期举办世界人工智能开源大赛、具身智能应用挑战赛、全球脑机接口创新赛等赛事。
治理侧的主题活动包括金砖国家特殊经济区杭州对话、丝路电商日（发布年度合作发展报告并组织海外电商研修班）与数贸非洲日；旗舰报告方面，《全球数字贸易发展报告2026》作为联合国机构正式出版物全球发布，同期发布《中国数字贸易发展报告2026》及细分领域标准、榜单与倡议。
展会背后的政策架构
商务部在发布会上的表述把数贸会放进三层架构：国家《关于数字贸易改革创新发展的意见》作为”四梁八柱”；国家数字贸易示范区推动集聚发展；每年举办的数贸会作为共商合作、共促发展、共享成果的公共平台。商务部援引世贸组织数据：2016至2025年中国数字化交付服务进出口年均增速11.2%，高于全球平均水平1.8个百分点。
展会还与资本相连：将与国家服务贸易创新发展引导基金、社会创投资本开展对接，撬动多元资本赋能数字贸易产业。
对外资数字企业的启示
- 把展会当作市场扫描窗口。 121国参展、国际展商超20%，一次到场可以覆盖中国数字贸易供应链——云、模型、词元、跨境电商基础设施——以及活跃其中的外国同行与伙伴。
- 丝路电商是电商进入赛道。 丝路电商日活动及其合作报告界定了政府支持的跨境电商走廊扩围方向；寻求走廊接入的平台与品牌应参加相关场次及海外研修环节。
- AI市场信号在此集中。 词元专区与AI展区让数贸会成为年度最密集的观察点：哪些模型、芯片与应用正在中国商业化、哪些对外开放合作。
- 数据与规则产出值得关注。 展会发布的旗舰报告、标准与合作倡议预示数字贸易的监管与标准议程；法务合规团队应收集整理。
- 资本通道开放。 国家引导基金与社会创投现场对接；在华外资数字企业可一并接触融资基础设施与商业渠道。
来源
- 全球数字贸易博览会官方网站 — 开放加码，创新提速！第五届数贸会活动矩阵扩容升级: https://www.gdte.org.cn/content/content_9300512.html
- 中国经济网 — 第五届数贸会：在中国遇见AI未来（2026年9月8日）: https://www.ce.cn/cysc/newmain//yc/jsxw/202609/t20260908_3199420.shtml
- 浙江在线 — 高端论坛、顶级大赛、产业活动……第五届数贸会还有”新玩法”（2026年9月15日）: https://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/zjnews/202609/t20260915_31909449.shtml
相关阅读
- 见：外资平台的跨境电商进入路径（cross-border-ecommerce-entry）
- 见：电商运营者的数据出境合规（data-export-ecommerce）