INF/ECOM/19  
 
24 April 2019  
(19-2756) Page: 1/4 
  Original: English  
 
JOINT STATEMENT ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
COMMUNICATION  FROM CHINA   
The following communication, dated 23 April  2019, is being circulated  at the request of the 
delegation of  China . 
_______________  
 
1  JOINT STATEMENT ON E LECTRONIC COMMERCE I N DAVOS  
1.1.  On 25 January 2019, following an informal meeting of Ministers on electronic commerce , held 
in Davos in Switzerland, China, together with 75 other WTO Members, issued a Joint Statement on 
Electronic Commerce confirming their intention to commence WTO negotiation  on trade -related 
aspects of electronic commerce, building on the existing WTO Agreements and frameworks. In the 
statement, Members  emphasize that they recognize and will take into account the unique 
opportunities and challenges faced by Members in relatio n to electronic commerce and  encourage 
all WTO Members to participate in the negotiation.  
2  CHINA 'S POSITION  
2.1.  China has elaborated on its position regarding WTO negotiation on trade -related aspects of 
electronic commerce in various occasions, including the open -ended meetings of the exploratory 
work in 2018, consultations  on the Davos Joint Statement, and the info rmal meeting of Ministers on 
electronic commerce held in Davos. China would like to reiterate its position from four perspectives 
as below:  
2.1  Objectives of the negotiation  
2.2.  WTO negotiation on electronic commerce should be committed to tapping into the great 
potential of electronic commerce , helping Members, particularly developing Members and LDCs, to 
integrate into global value chains, bridge the digital divide, seize development opportunities and 
benefit from inclusive trade, and hence better participating i n the economic globalization.  
2.2  Relationship between the negotiation and multilateral discussion  
2.3.  The negotiation should be complementary to the electronic commerce discussion in relevant 
subsidiary bodies of the WTO. The aforesaid bodies should be informed o f negotiation progress 
periodically. Meanwhile, the negotiation should be conducive to supporting the multilateral trading 
system, contribute to the revitalization of the WTO negotiating function, respond to the industry, 
keep WTO rules relevant and ultima tely achieve a multilateral outcome.  
2.3  Negotiation  process  
2.4.  The negotiation should be open, inclusive and transparent, ensuring the participation of 
interested Members in the overall process through well -designed frameworks and flexible 
approaches on the implementation of negotiation outcomes. The negotiation should set a reasonable 
level of ambition with full consideration of Members ' right to regulate, strike a balance among INF/ECOM/19  
 
- 2 - 
 
  technological  advancement, business development and legitimate public policy obj ectives of 
Members, such as internet sovereignty, data security, privacy protection, etc., and reach a balanced, 
pragmatic outcome reflecting all Members ' interests through equal consultation.  
2.4  Direction  and focus of the negotiation  
2.5.  Based on the existing W TO Agreements and frameworks, the negotiation should uphold the 
development dimension, fully take into account the difficulties and challenges faced by developing 
Members, including  those who have not joined the negotiation by now, especially LDCs. The 
negotiation should focus on the discussion of cross -border trade in goods enabled by  the internet, 
together with relevant payment and logistics services while paying attention to the digitalization 
trend of trade in services, and explore the way to develop in ternational rules for electronic commerce 
centering on a sound transaction environment and a safe and trust -worthy market environment.  
3  ACTION AREAS  
3.1.  Based on its development experiences, China has submitted 3 communications under the WTO 
framework, sharing information on its legislations, regulatory practices and industry development. 
China joined the "Friends of E -commerce for Development " (FED) and sponsored the "Workshop on 
E-commerce for Development under the Multilateral Trading System ". It's China 's view that Members 
should build consensus through communication and cooperation, and prioritize issues reflecting their 
common interests in the negotiation, to promote the negotiation progressively in the spirit 
of solidarity.  
3.1  Clarify the definition of trade-related aspects of electronic commerce and future rules' 
scope of application  
3.2.  Members  should define the trade -related aspects of electronic commerce, electronic 
transmission, etc., and clarify the relationship between future electronic commerce rules a nd the 
existing WTO Agreements.  
3.2  Establish a sound environment for electronic commerce transaction  
3.3.  Facilitating  Cross -Border Electronic Commerce : Members should endeavo r to further improve 
customs procedures; Members should , to the extent practicable, adopt  or build procedures allowing 
the option of payment by electronic means; Members should also make use of free zones and 
customs warehouses to facilitate cross -border electronic commerce.  
3.4.  Paperless Trading : Members should  endeavor to accept trade administra tion documents 
submitted electronically as the legal equivalent of the paper version of those documents, and 
endeavor to make trade administration documents available to the public in electronic form.  
3.5.  Electronic Signatures and Electronic Authentication : Members should  provide interested parties 
with the option to use electronic signatures and data messages in accordance with Members ' laws 
and regulations , and should  not deny electronic signatures and data messages legal validity solely 
because they are in electronic form; Members should  promote the mutual recognition of digital 
certificates and electronic signature.  
3.6.  Electronic Contracts : Members should  provide inter ested parties with the option to adopt 
electronic contracts, and should  not deny electronic contracts legal validity solely because electronic 
means are adopted; Members ' Contract Law and other related laws and regulations should  apply to 
electronic contra cts. 
3.7.  Moratorium  of Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions : Members should  continue to 
maintain the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until the next 
session of the Ministerial Conference.  INF/ECOM/19  
 
- 3 - 
 
  3.3  Create  a safe and trust-worthy market environment for electronic commerce  
3.8.  Online Consumer Protection : Members should, by appropriate means, provide consumers using 
electronic commerce  with protection that is at least equivalent to that provided for consumers of 
other commercial forms u nder Members ' respective laws, regulations and policies.  
3.9.  Personal Information Protection : Members should  adopt measures that they consider 
appropriate and necessary to protect the personal information of electronic commerce users.  
3.10.   Unsolicited Electronic Co mmercial Messages : Suppliers of unsolicited electronic commercial 
messages should  not send concealed or forged electronic messages on purpose, and should  not send 
electronic commercial  messages without the consent of recipients. Where recipients reject the  
ongoing reception of those messages after explicit consent, suppliers of unsolicited electronic 
commercial messages should  stop sending such messages.  
3.11.   Cyber Security : Members should  respect the internet sovereignty, exchange best practices, 
enhance electr onic commerce security, deepen cooperation, and safeguard the cyber security.  
3.12.   Transparency : Members should  make laws and regulations pertaining to the electronic 
commerce publicly  available; Members should,  to the extent possible, provide the original text of 
such laws and regulations as well as where they are published to the WTO Secretariat, and respond 
to reasonable enquiries from other Members regarding facilitating cross -border electronic commerce 
throu gh enquiry point(s) established under the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
3.4  Promote pragmatic  and inclusive development cooperation  
3.13.   Bridge the Digital Divide : Members are encouraged to adopt recommendations and practical 
measures that contribute to improving t he electronic commerce infrastructure and technical 
conditions of developing Members, to help enterprises and citizens realize digital transition.  
3.14.   Research, Training and Communication : Members are encouraged to conduct information 
exchange, joint study and  cooperative training, share best practices of electronic commerce 
development and implement capacity building among Members and international organizations, to 
promote the common development of electronic commerce.  
3.15.   Electronic Commerce for Development Prog ram: Members should  explore the way to establish 
an Electronic Commerce for Development Program under the WTO framework to encourage, manage 
and coordinate the contributions that Members voluntarily provide, with the aim of assisting 
developing Members, es pecially LDCs to improve development of electronic commerce and 
implement WTO rules on electronic commerce.  
4  OTHER ISSUES  
4.1.  Along with the new opportunities provided by electronic commerce, issues such as cyber 
security, data safety and privacy are increasingly highlighted, bringing unprecedented security risks 
and regulatory challenges to Members. Members sponsoring the Davos Joint Statement include not 
only developed Members, but also developing Members and LDCs. They differ in national conditions 
and development stages, have different challenges and concerns on  electronic commerce -related 
issues. When it comes to the entire WTO membership, the interests are even more diversified. 
Therefore, to advance the negotiation, differences in Members ' respec tive industry development 
conditions, historical and cultural traditions as well as legal systems need to be fully understood. 
Bearing in mind the aforementioned differences, Members should respect each other 's design of the  
electronic commerce development  paths, and the legitimate right to adopt regulatory measures in 
order to achieve reasonable public policy objectives.  INF/ECOM/19  
 
- 4 - 
 
  4.2.  In the exploratory discussions, some Members mentioned digital trade rules, covering issues 
such as data flow, data storage, treatment o f digital products, etc. In light of their complexity and 
sensitivity, as well as the vastly divergent views among the Members, more exploratory discussions 
are needed before bringing such issues to the WTO negotiation, so as to allow Members to fully 
understand their implications and impacts, as well as related challenges and opportunities.  
4.3.  It's undeniable that trade -related aspects of data flow are of great importance to trade 
development. However, more importantly, the data flow should be subject to the precondition of 
security, which concerns each and every Member 's core interests. To this end, it is necessary that 
the data flow orderly in compliance with Members ' respective laws and regulations.  
4.4.  China is willing to develop rules on trade -related aspect s of electronic commerce with other 
Members, starting with issues in line with the common interests of Members, so as to promote the 
healthy, orderly  and sustainable development of global electronic commerce, and to benefit 
enterprises, consumers and the g lobal economy as a whole.  
 
 
__________