In just 41 days, Hangzhou will once again host a high-profile event. The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE), jointly organized by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and the Ministry of Commerce, and co-hosted by the Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government, Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, and the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, will grandly open in Hangzhou on September 25.
As the only national-level, international professional expo dedicated to digital trade in China, the GDTE has gained strong market recognition after three successful editions, with its influence and reputation continuing to grow. In 2025, the GDTE was once again included in the State Council’s Government Work Report.
As the only national-level, international professional expo dedicated to digital trade in China, the GDTE was once again included in the State Council’s Government Work Report in 2025. Moving forward, Hangzhou will focus on the goals of “internationalization, specialization, market orientation, and a distinct digital trade identity” to set a new benchmark for digital trade and lead global trends. The city aims to deliver cutting-edge, immersive experiences that blend technology and interaction to spark global participation; drive tangible outcomes through efficient online and offline matchmaking; and build a new ecosystem by fostering collaboration with more countries, regions, and international organizations—expanding the global digital trade network and injecting fresh momentum into an open world economy.
PART.01 Three Major Sections — A New Showcase of the Digital Trade Spectacle
According to Wang Yongfang, Director of the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the 4th Global Digital Trade Expo, themed “Digital Trade, Global Access,” is scheduled to take place from September 25 to 29, 2025 at the Hangzhou Grand Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will feature three main sections: Exhibitions, Core Events, and DT Online, covering a total exhibition area of 150,000 square meters.
In the “Exhibitions” section, this year’s GDTE will feature one themed pavilion on digital trade along with seven specialized industry zones covering five key segments of the digital trade sector. The Digital Trade Themed Pavilion will offer a comprehensive showcase of cutting-edge industries such as embodied robotics and spatiotemporal intelligence, highlight global and domestic industry leaders as well as emerging digital trade forces, and present the latest achievements and application scenarios from guest countries, guest provinces, and international organizations in the deep integration of digital trade and advanced technology. The five key segments will include themed zones focused on: Digital Procurement Trade, Digital Technology and Data Trade, Digital Product Trade, and Digital Service Trade.
The “Core Events” section will be divided into theme-based activities, industry matchmaking, investment and financing pairing, and other events. For example, theme-based activities will include the opening ceremony, “Silk Road E-Commerce Day,” “Digital Trade Africa Day,” Digital Trade Night, and a digital free trade zone matchmaking event focused on high-standard economic and trade rules. Industry matchmaking will center around the five key segments of digital trade, leveraging the “1+5” digital trade pavilions to host a series of targeted industry connection events.
In the “DT Online” section, this year’s GDTE will continue to enhance and upgrade its signature features such as business opportunity matching, digital experiences, and cross-border store openings. Additionally, new content areas will be introduced, including cutting-edge digital trade trends, industry updates, national strategies, local regulations, policy interpretations, project applications, and resource matchmaking.
PART.02 Rich Content — Building Five Major Highlights and Features
This year’s GDTE will focus on the themes of “internationalization, specialization, market orientation, and a distinct digital trade identity,” enriching the content of “Exhibition,” “Events,” “Rankings,” “Competitions,” and “Resources,” and making every effort to create five major highlights and features.
To ignite excitement through dual exhibitions, this year’s GDTE will establish a Digital Trade Themed Zone featuring the “Six Little Dragons” area, creating suspense around “Who Will Be the Seventh Dragon?” to set a new benchmark for national-level expo themed pavilions. During the GDTE, well-known industry events such as the Alibaba Cloud Summit, NetEase Future Conference, and Anheng West Lake Forum will also be held in coordination.
For dual IP brand renewal, this year’s GDTE mascot has been upgraded using AIGC technology to evolve the mascots “Chuangchuang” and “Xinxin,” creating an IP brand that blends virtual and real elements. At the same time, a new digital trade themed exhibition hall has been established to serve as a sustainable, year-round IP platform for the GDTE.
The “Double Upgrade Rankings” event will feature three core highlights: unveiling authoritative industry rankings, signing international partnerships, and launching innovative products. Enhanced by cutting-edge tech-art elements like digital human debuts and interactive swarm robots, it will deliver a spectacular “Digital Trade Night” gala. This year’s expo will also debut its “Top 10 Under 35” list, spotlighting rising talents in digital trade under age 35.
The “Dual Competitions to Boost the Ecosystem” segment will feature two key initiatives: 1) Continuing the Global Digital Trade Innovation Competition to attract top projects and teams worldwide, 2) further establishing its brand reputation, and Building a comprehensive competition cluster for digital trade, including: China Aviation Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, Zhejiang Entrepreneur Contest, Global AI Song Contest, RoboCom Robot Competition, and E-sports Tournaments. This creates a multi-tiered competition system with a “core + satellite” structure.
Under the “Dual Capital for Momentum” initiative, this year’s expo will launch strategic Middle Eastern capital partnerships. Leveraging the UAE’s role as Guest Country of Honor, we will facilitate in-depth participation from Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Mubadala Investment Company and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Simultaneously, we will effectively utilize the national-level 10-billion-yuan service trade fund based in Hangzhou, adopting a “conference-driven investment” approach to empower the construction of the Global Digital Trade Hub core zone.
PART.03 Industry Matchmaking – Taking International Cooperation to New Heights
At the promotion event, the first batch of exhibitors and partners for the 4th Digital Trade Expo officially signed agreements. Highlights include: 1) Dun & Bradstreet, a globally renowned decision-making intelligence firm, becoming an official expo partner, 2) Yokogawa Electric, Ant Group, and Agricultural Bank of China signing up for themed pavilions, 3) Amazon and Wuchan Zhongda Cloud Commerce joining the Silk Road E-commerce section, 4) GE Healthcare and AstraZeneca committing to the Digital Healthcare exhibition area
The first batch of international buyer procurement lists were simultaneously released. Buyers from 23 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and the Philippines are seeking cooperation across multiple exhibition zones such as: Smart Spaces, Artificial Intelligence, Silk Road E-commerce, Smart Logistics, Digital Healthcare, and Intelligent Mobility.
Additionally, representatives from Indonesia’s new capital unveiled digital transformation procurement needs spanning multiple industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, logistics & transportation, education, and infrastructure development.
To date, the Digital Trade Expo has been successfully held in Hangzhou for three consecutive editions. It has become a powerful driver for the city’s digital trade reform and innovation, now recognized as the hallmark initiative in establishing Hangzhou as a leading digital trade hub, and the core zone of the Global Digital Trade Port
With 70 days to go before the 4th GDTE, Hangzhou will now benchmark against top exhibitions like CES to build a professional exhibition matrix, lead global cutting-edge trends, and establish itself as a world-class exhibition benchmark; take the lead in introducing and applying the latest technologies to create product services that emphasize both technological sophistication and immersive experiences, build highly recognizable implementation scenarios, and ignite global participation enthusiasm; meticulously weave a global investment and exhibition network to achieve efficient online and offline supply-demand matching, and strive to promote large-scale order conversion and implementation results; facilitate more countries (regions), international organizations, and sister cities to reach cooperation consensus, expand the global partnership network for digital trade, and inject strong momentum into building an open world economy.