New policies to help e-commerce units, say insiders

Businesses engaged in cross-border e-commerce said they stand to benefit from a slew of preferential policies unveiled by the State Council on Wednesday to boost the sector's development and further unlock consumption potential.

Measures to simplify procedures for the entry of first-time imported items, expand product categories to enjoy preferential rates, and lift the bar for purchase limits per head are clear indications that China aims to use cross-border e-commerce as an impetus to fuel steady economic growth, according to industry players and experts.

"The string of policies are seen as concrete steps taken to implement President Xi Jinping's announcement to further open up the economy and accelerate the development of e-commerce, which was made during the China International Import Expo earlier this month," said Zhang Lei, CEO of Net-Ease Kaola, a leading Chinese cross-border portal.