Foreign trade is an important engine driving economic growth and an important hub linking domestic and international double cycles. How to accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers of foreign trade? In 2025, more measures should be taken to accelerate the expansion of diversified international markets and deepen economic and trade cooperation with countries jointly built under the Belt and Road Initiative. We will consolidate the foundation for the development of cross-border e-commerce and digital trade, and accelerate the digital and green development of trade in key areas.
In the New Year, to explore the diversified international market, we should deepen economic and trade cooperation with other countries in the world, promote mutual benefit and common development between China and other countries in the world through cooperation, and open up new opportunities and expand new opportunities in common development. We should continue to stabilize traditional markets, deepen economic and trade cooperation with countries that jointly build the Belt and Road, and constantly expand the space for trade development.
At the same time, practice internal skills, improve the international competitiveness of products and services. It is necessary to accelerate the formation and consolidation of the competitive advantages of the industrial chain system with innovation as an important feature, respond to the changes in the international environment and fierce international competition with the competitive advantages of the industrial chain system, and enhance the "unchanged" competitive advantages of the industrial chain system to respond to the "changes" of the international environment.
In addition, it is necessary to increase innovation efforts, accelerate the use of digital and intelligent technology, launch products that can meet market demand, launch products that can lead the direction and trend of market development, and win the initiative and advantage of the market with innovative initiatives.
In 2024, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.8%, higher than the overall growth rate of trade in goods, and the potential and advantages of "selling the world" and "buying the world" continued to be released, making a positive contribution to China's stable foreign trade. At the same time, China's digital service trade is also developing rapidly, in the first 11 months of 2024, the import and export of digital service trade increased by 6.2%. In general, in 2024, China's digital trade will develop rapidly, and all places have accumulated certain experience in exploring the development of digital trade and explored some new practices.
Looking forward to 2025, in the development of digital trade, it is necessary to consolidate the foundation for the development of cross-border e-commerce and digital trade with local characteristic industries and advantageous industries, and support the development of digital trade with characteristics including cross-border e-commerce. All parts of China have characteristic industries and advantageous industries, these characteristic industries and advantageous industries are accumulated for a long time, and are rooted in China's domestic resources and industrial chain, and many local characteristic industries have formed industrial clusters, industrial chain supporting relatively sound, with international competitiveness. Therefore, in the development of digital trade, including cross-border e-commerce, all localities should fully tap the advantages of local characteristic industries, and use local characteristic industries as the chassis for the development of digital trade. At the same time, the use of digital and intelligent technology to transform and enhance characteristic industries and advantageous industries, and with the help of cross-border e-commerce to the world. It is also necessary to vigorously use digital and intelligent technology to identify and trace local characteristic products and advantageous products.