Representatives applaud the unveiling of the secretariat of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, Dec 25. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

The secretariat of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) was unveiled at the Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park Dec 25.

The platform was initiated by Alibaba Group and was included on the G20 Leaders' Communique in the hope that digital technology will be used to facilitate global trade. 

Six eWTP hubs have been established in Hangzhou and Yiwu in eastern China's Zhejiang province, and Malaysia, Rwanda, Belgium and Ethiopia. 

The secretariat will be held accountable for day-to-day operations, international exchanges, training and release of regulations, and is set to start operations in October 2020. 

Zhejiang province is currently working hard to promote digitalized trade. According to the Zhejiang Department of Commerce, the province achieved 96.16 billion yuan ($13.74 billion) in cross-border online retail sales from January to November 2019, a year-on-year increase of 30.1 percent. 

The value of cross-border online export reached 70.7 billion yuan, increasing by 37 percent, statistics showed.