411. China would like to thank South Africa for the proposal. As IP enforcement in the digital environment has been emphasized a lot in the past, South Africa provides us with the perspective of IP and development in the digital era. We recall that the General Council adopted the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce in September 1998 and mandates Members to discuss issues related to electronic commerce in the General Council and four WTO bodies, including the TRIPS Council. The Work Programme mandates the TRIPS Council to examine new technologies and access to technology. It also requires the Committee for Trade and Development to take into account the needs of developing countries, including the use of information technology. These issues are all related to IP and development in the digital era.
412. In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid development of electronic commerce around the world. E-commerce effectively helps enterprises, especially medium and small-sized enterprises, to reduce the cost of participating in the globalization process and provides more commercial, trade and investment opportunities for enterprises so that they can better integrate into the global supply chain. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of e-commerce to the global economy.
413. Meanwhile, we recognize that the challenges brought by e-commerce and new technologies have aroused worldwide attention. It is important to explore how developing countries could make better use of e-commerce to expand trade and investment opportunities. China thinks that we should work to increase developing countries' involvement in world trade through appropriate measures and access to digital technologies on commercial terms, especially in a digital environment.
