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China's New Tech-Driven Commerce Plan: What Foreign Founders Should Know

A practical briefing for foreign founders on China's nine-department plan to accelerate technology-enabled commerce, covering smart retail, supply chains, e-commerce quality, standards, data governance and financing support.

China Pushes Technology Into Every Link of Commerce

Nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, have jointly issued a policy opinion on accelerating technology-driven commerce. For foreign founders building or registering a company in China, the document signals where regulators intend to direct investment, standards and pilot programs over the coming years. It is a policy framework, not a set of new market-entry rules, but it points to sectors likely to receive government attention and support.

The plan is tied to China's 15th Five-Year Plan and to broader goals of developing new quality productive forces, modernizing the industrial system and expanding domestic demand. Its stated aim is to make technology a stronger support for innovation in trade and commerce and to speed up construction of a strong domestic market.

Guiding Priorities

The document lists technologies it wants applied more widely in commerce: artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, blockchain, digital twins and embodied intelligence. The goal is to make the entire commercial chain more intelligent, greener and more integrated. Foreign founders should note that these categories appear repeatedly across the eighteen measures, which suggests they will shape standards, pilots and funding priorities.

Upgrading Product Supply

The plan calls for deeper integration of AI into product research, design, manufacturing and marketing. It highlights smart consumer goods such as smartphones, computers, home products, wearables and robots, and encourages smart products built on secure, reliable open-source operating systems. It also supports upgrading traditional industries, developing well-known consumer brands, advancing technology-enabled agriculture, and helping time-honored brands innovate with modern production techniques.

Matching Supply and Demand

Flexible manufacturing is a core theme. Companies are encouraged to use industrial large models and edge intelligence to build adaptive production systems, and to adopt on-demand production and consumer-to-manufacturer models. AI-based personalized customization and specialized customization brands are also promoted.

Stimulating Consumer Markets

The document points to exhibitions such as the China International Consumer Products Expo, the Global Digital Trade Expo and the China Agricultural Trade Fair as platforms for displaying and trading technology achievements. It also encourages smart consumption facilities and services to extend into county-level markets.

Services and Scenarios

Several measures address services. These include smart home-services platforms built with technology partners, digital transformation of catering, broader use of AI in health management, pharmacy services and rehabilitation care where local conditions permit, and smart elderly care and childcare services. On upgrading services, the plan mentions the national smart education platform, AI plus culture and tourism pilots, extended reality applications, a data element times sports initiative, and convenient television terminals.

For personalized services, it calls for healthy and well-regulated new formats such as companion robots and virtual digital humans, ultra-high-definition audio-visual technology, and AI and digital twins applied to IP development in culture, tourism, sports, domestic trends and historical classic industries.

Supply Chains and Retail

The plan promotes smart warehousing, intelligent logistics equipment and unmanned delivery, integrated warehousing-distribution-transportation, green supply chains and leading digital-intelligent supply chain enterprises that support smaller suppliers. In wholesale and retail, it calls for digital transformation of agricultural wholesale markets, a retail innovation and upgrading project, and use of digital tools in store layout, inventory, logistics, anti-counterfeiting traceability and after-sales management.

E-Commerce Quality

A quality e-commerce initiative would promote an inspect-before-shipping model and stronger full-chain quality management on platforms. The document emphasizes quality standards, inspection and brand building for online goods in home appliances, home decoration and electronics, networked verification of compulsory product certification (CCC) on e-commerce platforms, and pilot reform of CCC marks with traceability QR codes.

Intelligent, Green and Integrated Scenarios

The plan encourages commercial AI agents for shopping guidance, operations and logistics, embodied intelligence in home services and commercial logistics, and cloud shopping and cloud display experiences. On green commerce, it supports blockchain-based product carbon footprint accounting, advanced biofuels, bio-based materials and biodegradable plastics, green malls, restaurants and logistics parks, and smarter second-hand goods circulation and recycling. It also promotes integrated consumption scenarios combining commerce, tourism, culture, sports and health.

Standards, Infrastructure and Governance

Standards work includes national standards for grading the intelligence of AI terminals, a commerce standards upgrading action and national standardization pilots in trade. On infrastructure, the plan calls for upgrading commercial facilities, applying industrial internet and cloud platforms, an AI startup support program for small and medium enterprises, inclusive computing power, high-quality datasets and trusted data spaces.

Governance measures include tiered oversight of commercial AI agents, clearer boundaries for collecting, using and sharing commercial data, a possible negative list for data applications, and a data security risk monitoring system. Regulators also propose inclusive and prudent supervision with sandbox pilots and stress testing for new technologies within controlled limits.

Talent and Financing

The plan supports training interdisciplinary commercial-technology talent through joint programs between universities, research institutes, vocational schools and companies. It encourages city-level industry-education consortia, industry-education integration communities led by leading firms, and new occupations related to logistics robotics and intelligent systems management. On financing, it calls for using existing funding channels, encouraging financial institutions to support new consumption scenarios and providing more support for technical upgrades and equipment renewal in commercial facilities.

What This Means for Foreign Founders

• Technology categories named in the plan, such as AI agents, embodied intelligence and digital twins, are likely to attract standards, pilots and local support.
• Consumer-facing sectors such as smart goods, e-commerce, retail, logistics and green commerce are central to the policy direction.
• Compliance expectations around data, certification and platform quality are being tightened alongside promotion measures.
• Local implementation will vary, so founders should monitor provincial and municipal announcements.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Call to action: Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp or WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.