Global E-Commerce Faces Challenges: ExpertsThe development of E-commerce around the world is facing such major challenges as security, legal contradictions, and infrastructure and technological innovation, experts told the Fifth China International Electronic Commerce Summit here Thursday.Mr. Oborne, an official with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), told the opening ceremony of the meeting Thursday that OECD members are discussing the possibility of going beyond formal trade agreements and establishing a cooperative partnership among governments, corporations and civil communities. He said that consumer trust, soundness of national regulation rules and harmony of international regulations, infrastructure development through innovation of technology and regulatory standards and bringing the benefit of E-commerce to everyone are the major challenges for global E-commerce. Michelle O'Neill, assistant to the U.S. deputy secretary of commerce, said at the meeting that E-commerce transactions worldwide are expected to reach seven trillion U.S. dollars-worth in 2004. By 2005, one billion people around the world will be connected to the Internet, she said. She noted that the phenomenal growth of the Internet and boundless trading opportunities have been pushing governments worldwide to ensure that their E-commerce policies are compatible across borders. Paul Chia from Singapore said that it is still too early to say that the world has arrived in the E-commerce age, noting that governments, corporations and civil organizations in many countries are still building their E-commerce infrastructures. European Union official Philippe Chauve said that the EU is running programs in developing countries to help extend the benefits of E-commerce to these countries. An official from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of E- Commerce told the meeting that an increasing imbalance among various industries is one of the problems that Japan faces in the growth of E-commerce. He said that Japan is ready to learn from the experience of other countries in developing its E-commerce strategy. |
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