(Yicai) Nov. 28 -- More than 100 procurement groups from Germany, France, Japan, Hungary, Singapore and elsewhere took part in the second Global Digital Trade Expo in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, with the value of contracts signed reaching about CNY155.9 billion (USD21.8 billion).

The trade fair, held from Nov. 23 through yesterday, attracted more than 15,000 buyers, including over 1,700 foreign exhibitors, Wang Pengfei, deputy director of the commerce ministry’s electronic commerce and informatization department, said at the closing press conference.

Themed ‘Digital Trade, Global Access,’ the five-day event included discussions on cross-border data flow, digital finance, digital security governance, and other topics. As of noon yesterday, 100,000 people had attended.

“The digital trade expo has made many overseas companies feel the impact of digital trade,” Wang said.According to an e-commerce platform in Latin America, within half a day of the expo opening, there were hundreds of merchants inquiring about joining," said Wang Pengfei.

The GDTE has allowed many overseas firms to experience the impact of digital trade, Wang said, adding that an e-commerce platform from Latin America noted that within half a day of the expo opening, there were hundreds of merchants inquiring about joining.

A salesperson with a Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence-generated content startup told Yicai that they had not expected so many visitors and they had shown great interest.

German sewing machine brand Bullmer, which makes sewing machines, made contact with potential overseas agents at the event, said Sales Manager Ren Jian.

China had more than 200 digital trade companies with a combined market capitalization of over USD1 billion as of last year, according to the China Digital Trade Development Report released at the GDTE's opening ceremony. 

Some 227 Chinese firms in key technologies, new energy, new media, and other areas and with a valuation of CNY10.7 trillion (USD1.5 trillion) ranked among the top 500 global unicorns last year, the most for any country for a fourth straight year.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev