Backgrounder: Digital Economy Partnership Agreement

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has filed a formal application to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), the Ministry of Commerce announced Monday.

The DEPA, signed in June 2020 by Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, is a new type of trade partnership agreement seeking to bolster digital trade by regulating issues related to the digital economy, including digital inclusion, data flows and protection, and artificial intelligence.

It is designed to complement and support the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on e-commerce, and to build on the digital economy work underway within Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other international forums.

The DEPA is divided into modules which cover topics such as business and trade facilitation, data issues, business and consumer trust, innovation and the digital economy, etc.

The DEPA is an open plurilateral agreement to which other WTO members are eligible to join if they are able to meet its standards.

The agreement has since attracted interest from Canada and South Korea, with Seoul formally applying to join the pact last month.

The application to join DEPA is in line with China's direction of further deepening domestic reform and expanding high-level opening-up, and will help the country strengthen digital economy cooperation with other members and promote innovation and sustainable development under the new development paradigm, the ministry said.