China's first forum on electronic business (e-commerce) was held in Beijing on January 19 with over 400participants.

Representatives of the information technology (IT) industry, renowned companies, and financial and research institutions offered theoretical and practical suggestions on how to develop e-commerce in China.

Fifty-nine companies, 58 of which are internet content providers (ICP), announced at the forum they intend to build a new cooperative relationship to explore China's e-commerce market.

E-commerce, an entirely new method of doing business via the Internet, is experiencing rapid growth worldwide, with e-commerce trade volume estimated to reach 25 billion US dollars this year.

Many Chinese websites have been actively engaged in e-commerce during the past few years, seeking customers who are learning to shop via the Internet.

China's e-commerce, however, is facing problems such as a less-developed Internet infrastructure and a lack of regulations and laws.

Today's forum was designed to address these issues. The forum is scheduled to be held twice a year in order to catch up with the development of e-commerce around the world.

The forum was held jointly by Chinese Entrepreneurs magazine, the IBM corporation, and the Beijing Youth Daily.