Published by ChinaMNC · Gongshandulongzunuzu

China's New 'Tech-Powered Commerce' Policy: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

A practical briefing for foreign founders on China's first policy document dedicated to 'tech-powered commerce,' covering AI-enabled consumption, service-sector upgrades, and supply chain modernization.

China Releases First Comprehensive 'Tech-Powered Commerce' Policy

On October 19, 2026, China's State Council Information Office held a press conference to present the Opinions on Accelerating the Advancement of Tech-Powered Commerce (《关于加快推进科技兴商的意见》), which had been publicly released that day. The briefing featured Assistant Minister of Commerce Yuan Xiaoming, along with officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Market System Development, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. For foreign founders building or operating companies in China, the document signals how policy will shape consumer markets, retail, logistics, and service sectors in the coming years.

According to the officials, this is the first policy document organized around the theme of "tech-powered commerce." Its core idea is to treat technological innovation as a driving force across the entire commerce chain and to deepen the integration of technology with trade and consumption.

Why Commerce Is the Focus

Yuan described commerce as the key link between production and consumption and an important support for building a strong domestic market. He noted that a new round of technological and industrial change is accelerating, with artificial intelligence, big data, embodied intelligence, and digital twins iterating rapidly and reshaping how commerce is organized and operated.

Through technology, the policy aims to:

• Increase and improve the supply of goods and services on the supply side;
• Enrich consumption scenarios and reduce consumer decision costs on the demand side;
• Raise operational efficiency and lower logistics costs in the circulation sector;
• Promote a higher-level dynamic balance between supply and demand.

The document is positioned within China's broader push to develop "new quality productive forces" and to implement the 15th Five-Year Plan's call for a strong domestic market.

The Four Pillars of the Policy

The Opinions set out 18 specific measures, which Yuan summarized under four headings. Foreign founders should read these as directional signals for where regulatory support and market incentives are likely to concentrate.

1. Technology-Enabled Goods Consumption

The policy focuses on matching goods supply more precisely with consumer demand. Measures include developing flexible manufacturing and personalized customization to better align supply and demand. The goal is to encourage product iteration and upgrading rather than simple volume growth.

2. Technology-Driven Expansion of Service Consumption

Responding to consumption upgrading, the policy calls for raising service levels in basic categories such as domestic services and catering, expanding upgraded services in culture, tourism, and sports, and improving personalized service quality. For founders in consumer services, this indicates official support for digital and technology-enabled service models.

3. Smoother Commerce and Circulation Chains

The document calls for accelerating a special action plan for digital and intelligent supply chains, upgrading wholesale and retail, and building a quality-oriented e-commerce ecosystem. This affects companies involved in distribution, logistics, and online retail platforms.

4. Shaping Future Commercial Scenarios

The policy aims to cultivate intelligent, green, and integrated commercial scenarios. It also identifies six areas for improving the development environment: standards systems, infrastructure, safety supervision, R&D transformation, talent cultivation, and fiscal and financial support.

What 'New, Comprehensive, and Practical' Means

When asked about the document's main features, Yuan summarized them with three characters: "new," "comprehensive," and "practical."

New refers to the emphasis on technological innovation and adapting to changing consumption trends. Yuan cited Ministry of Commerce big data showing that in the first nine months of 2026, sales of smart glasses on key platforms grew 1.1-fold. Technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things, and blockchain are being widely applied in consumption.

Comprehensive means the policy covers the whole commerce chain and all business formats. Vertically, it spans product R&D, manufacturing, and service provision on the supply side; wholesale, logistics, and e-commerce in circulation; and consumption scenarios. Horizontally, it applies new technology to traditional sectors such as retail, catering, and domestic services while cultivating new formats such as commercial agents and green circular consumption.

Practical means the measures are problem-oriented and designed to be verifiable. Examples include developing flexible manufacturing and on-demand production for supply-demand matching, promoting digital and intelligent transformation of livelihood services such as domestic services, medical care, and elderly and childcare services, and launching a quality e-commerce cultivation action with enhanced online verification of key products on e-commerce platforms.

AI and Manufacturing: The Industrial Backdrop

Wei Wei, Director of the Department of Science and Technology at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, provided context on the "AI + Manufacturing" special action. He noted that in July 2026, President Xi Jinping stated at the World AI Conference that AI should empower all industries. According to estimates cited by Wei, China's core AI industry exceeded RMB 1.2 trillion in 2025.

He described progress in five areas:

• Scenario-driven application: Around 20 industries, including steel, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals, have yielded more than 1,000 high-value application scenarios, 285 typical cases, and matchmaking for over 5,000 companies. More than 30% of above-scale manufacturing enterprises have adopted AI technology.
• Industrial foundation: Over 500 high-quality datasets and more than 100 industrial AI agents have been developed across 20 key industrial fields, alongside hundreds of national and industry standards and more than 70 international standards.
• AI terminal products: National standards for grading AI terminal intelligence have been published for seven product categories, including smartphones, computers, televisions, and glasses. More than 100 products meet assisted-level capability requirements, and in the first half of 2026, shipments of intelligent terminals exceeded 100 million units.
• Enterprises and talent: As of end-June, there were more than 6,600 AI enterprises, alongside application service provider cultivation and national engineer training programs.
• Ecosystem: An open-source AI community, AtomGit, has been launched, and a RMB 60 billion national AI industry investment fund has been established.

Next steps include tackling key AI technologies through challenge-based mechanisms, accelerating the adoption of AI computers and phones in connection with trade-in programs, advancing brain-computer interfaces and embodied intelligence, and organizing matchmaking activities to connect intelligent products with retail channels.

Implications for Foreign Founders

For foreign founders, the policy's practical significance lies in its direction rather than immediate obligations. Companies in consumer goods, e-commerce, logistics, domestic services, tourism, and smart hardware should watch for implementing rules in standards, infrastructure, and fiscal support. The emphasis on quality e-commerce, supply chain digitalization, and AI-enabled products suggests where market opportunities and compliance expectations may evolve.

The document is a framework; specific requirements will emerge through follow-up measures from the Ministry of Commerce and other departments. Founders should monitor official releases and adjust registration scope, product certification, and platform compliance accordingly.

Next Steps

Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.