International and Comparative Law Research Center (ICLRC), along with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation , organized the online discussion session “Digitalization of International Trade” on March 30, 2021, from 1:00 to 6:30 p.m (UTC+3).

ICLRC is a Moscow-based non-profit non-governmental organization conducting research on various issues of public and private international law, as well as holding events on pertinent issues within the sphere.

As stated in the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects mid-2020 report, “nearly 90 per cent of the world economy has been under some form of lockdown, disrupting supply chains, depressing consumer demand and putting millions out of work”. The digitalization of international trade is one of the key factors which could ensure global trade growth in time of a crisis like COVID-19 pandemic and reduce contractor costs in general.

Given the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to discuss the role of digital technologies in restoring the interrupted commercial ties and in establishing new ones, to analyse approaches to creating effective national and international regulation facilitating the introduction and use of digital forms of communication by market players as well as making them more reliable.

Prof. Xue was invited to give a keynote speech at the Panel 1 “Digital trading platforms”. Prof. Xue provided a comprehensive overview on the Online Trading Platforms in Trade Law and outlined 3 clusters of the platform services that have the most significant impacts on the international trade law. The speech was well received by all the audience and highly recognized by the experts. Prof. Xue also effectively responded to a variety of questions from harmonization of cross-border regulation to application to blockchain technology.