"China Suppliers" (www.china.cn), the largest government-run
E-business website in the country, was officially put into
operation in Beijing on Monday.
"China Suppliers" is established and operated by the China Internet
Information Center (www.china.com.cn) under the State Council's
Information Office, which publishes news and information in 10
languages.
"China Suppliers" is the government's first large-scale
involvement in the country's E-business, a fledgling industry that
has been the domain of private companies, said a local
observer.
The newly-opened commercial website, with the support of the
Ministry of Commerce, targets small businesses that want to access
international markets.
During its trial operation over the past month, some 3.6 million
companies registered and it published 40 million commercial
messages.
In 2005, China's on-line trade reached 650 billion yuan (US$81
billion) in sales, with 1.53 million domestic companies engaged in
E-business.
Until recently, all major Chinese commercial websites were run
by private firms.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2006)