The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce and the Office of the Zhejiang Cyberspace Affairs Commission recently jointly released a plan to develop Zhejiang province into a demonstration zone for digital trade.

According to the plan, the demonstration zone will initially include the entirety of Hangzhou, later add Ningbo and Jinhua in 2021 and 2022, and include the entire province province by 2025.

According to an official from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, the plan released by the State Council in September to expand the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone specifies that Zhejiang should turn its national-level digital service export bases into demonstration zones for digital trade. Thus, the province's development of demonstration zone is critical to the development of its FTZ.

Key localities mentioned in the construction plan for the demonstration zone include the Hangzhou Binjiang Internet of Things Industrial Park, Hangzhou Future Technology City, Hangzhou Cloud City, Hangzhou's Qiantang New Area, and the Ningbo Yongjiang Scientific Innovation Corridor.

According to the plan, the demonstration zone for digital trade in Zhejiang will be home to a competitive digital industry and serve as an example for other places in China to follow by 2022 and will become a global digital trade center by 2025.