Taiwan's III (Institute for Information Industry) recently announced that Taiwan will host the AFACT (Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) next year, with an aim to speed up the development of a cross-border digital economy in the Asia Pacific region, the Central News Agency reported on August 15. At the 2022 AFACT forum co-held by the III and the Commerce Development Research Institute, III's President Dr. C.H Cho said that Taiwan will play an increasingly important role in establishing IT standards for e-commerce activities around the world by being the 2023 AFACT host. On top of that, Taiwan has also been appointed as the permanent secretariat of AFACT. Meanwhile, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang, to head the Ministry of Digital Affairs on August 27 this year, also attended the forum and expected Taiwan to strengthen the trade tie with the United States through the Taiwan-U.S. 21^st Century Trade Initiative. The Initiative covers digital trade, anti-corruption, SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), environmental protection, and non-market economies. Global e-commerce market sales are estimated to reach US$6.4 trillion in 2024 and account for 21.8% of the total commerce market, according to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), one of leading IT research institutes in Taiwan and a division of III.