DHGATE Group CEO Diane Wang Shares Insights on Global Trade and E-commerce at First Meeting of WTO Director General's Business Advisory Group

BEIJING, July 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Diane Wang, DHgate Group's Founder, Chairperson and CEO, shared her unique insights and perspectives – gained from years of experience heading a leading B2B cross-border e-commerce company – at the first online meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General's Business Advisory Group on July 4th.

The group was recently established by WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to improve engagement with businesses and facilitate dialogue on key issues relevant to both the multilateral trading system and complex international business landscape.

Diane was appointed as a member of the WTO Director-General Business Advisory Group based on her extensive expertise and experience. She is the sole representative from China among the current 10 members, with whom she imparted her personal experiences from the past 30+ years and the cross-border e-commerce business and global online trade perspective on international trade practices.

Among the other members were distinguished industry leaders and experts such as John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and a legal expert on international trade and investment; José Viñals, Group Chairman of Standard Chartered and Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank; and Tarek Sultan, Vice Chairman of global supply chain company Agility. 

"Amid the current complex international trade landscape, it is very opportune to have another platform where I can contribute to the sustainable development of global trade, and I am very grateful and glad to be a part of this WTO-appointed group," said Diane.

With world trade at the crossroads of evolving global economies and rapid digital transformation, Diane emphasized during the meeting the need for a comprehensive set of international e-commerce infrastructure and guidelines, to lubricate international trade operations. In particular, she pushed to bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries, as well as between large corporations and MSMEs.

As a veteran of the e-commerce industry who has seen first-hand the challenges that entrepreneurs and MSMEs face, Diane also brought up the challenges that these groups face, especially those from underserved communities such as women and Gen Z. She is especially passionate about providing these underserved groups with online training, resources and tools, and giving them the opportunity to succeed. This commitment is exemplified through initiatives like DHGATE Group's cross-border social commerce platform, MyyShop, as well as the APEC Women Connect program, which Diane initiated in 2016. The program has effectively trained over 100,000 women in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, nurturing the growth of more than 1,200 female entrepreneurs.

At the meeting, Diane advocated WTO to develop and implement global policies to improve digital infrastructure, especially for under-served regions; incentivize investment in digital skills training; and promote the equitable distribution of digital knowledge resources.

Diane stressed the importance of uniting WTO members' resources to promote digital trust in e-commerce and developing harmonized cybersecurity standards and frameworks, to foster greater multilateral cooperation and trust around digital systems and processes.

With the continuous emergence of new technologies, Diane also shared with the WTO Director-General's Business Advisory Group about how AI, automation and social commerce are changing the e-commerce and digital trade landscape. She believes the WTO has an important role to play in enabling a collaborative business environment that promotes global cooperation and technological evolution.

The July 4th meeting marked the first online gathering of the WTO Director-General's Business Advisory Group. The event was chaired by Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and discussed the latest challenges faced by the global business community, among them the impact of digitalization, concerns and priorities for global e-commerce, and other experiences of business stakeholders.

The WTO Director-General's Business Advisory Group members also offered up ideas and potential solutions to these problems to help facilitate better WTO reform and keep up with the global trends. The Group is scheduled to have two meetings per year, coinciding with major WTO events throughout 2023. The July 4th meeting was held just after the World Economic Forum's "Summer Davos" in Tianjin, China, where participants discussed topics around "Entrepreneurship."

About DHgate

Founded in 2004, DHgate has become the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplace in China, boasting over 34 million live listings annually. Through our global operations and offices, including in the USA and UK, we reach millions of people with trusted products and services. As of December 31, 2022, DHgate served more than 59.6 million registered buyers from 225 countries and regions, connecting them to over 2.54 million sellers in China and other countries.

For more information, please visit DHgate.com and follow @DHgate.com.