The inaugural edition of the Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) is set to commence in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, in March.

Approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the GDTE is currently the only national-level international industry fair that is themed on digital trade.

The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce will on Feb 22 host the Digital Trade Empowers Common Prosperity Forum in Hangzhou as a warm-up event for the upcoming GDTE.

The forum will show how common prosperity is pursued in the province's commerce sectors. Officials and entrepreneurs from the province's demonstration zones and benchmark companies for digital trade will share their perspectives and experiences in this regard. Academics from Zhejiang University and the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (AITEC) as well as digital industry insiders from the province's 26 less-developed mountainous counties will give keynote speeches at the forum as well.

Latest data shows that Zhejiang's digital trade volume stood at 527.9 billion yuan ($83.36 billion) in 2021, up 21.8 percent from the year before.

Zhejiang authorities have set the goal of having the province's digital trade volume surpass one trillion yuan in 2025. Zhejiang is expected to become a global hub of digital trade by then.