BEIJING - China has issued guidance on Monday ​for its e-commerce ⁠sector that seeks to coordinate domestic development with international markets, ‌a week after a delegation of European lawmakers visited to discuss related challenges and competition.

European ​Union lawmakers had pressed China about a surge of dangerous products that entered ​the bloc ​and limited access to the Chinese market in what was the first European parliamentary visit to the world's second-largest economy in ⁠eight years.

Last month, the EU agreed to overhaul its customs system, including a crackdown on mainly Chinese e-commerce platforms that could face fines if they sold illegal or unsafe products in the bloc.

China's new guidance for ​its sector, ‌jointly issued ⁠by various ministries and ⁠regulators, called for striking a balance between promotion and regulation and efficiency and ​fairness, while integrating the digital and real economies.

It ‌also mentioned forming pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce ⁠activities that would be used for special initiatives,establishing rules and standards and expanding platforms into overseas markets.

"We will encourage e-commerce enterprises to establish direct procurement bases overseas, expand imports of high-quality and distinctive products and create an e-commerce 'express lane' for global goods to enter the Chinese market," the statement said.

The guidance, which did not mention e-commerce trade with Europe, was jointly released by the Chinese commerce ministry, the ministries ‌of industry, agriculture and tourism and the cyberspace and ⁠market regulators.

China's foreign ministry has said the ​EU delegation's visit could improve the bloc's understanding of China and support stable bilateral ties.

The visit signalled a cautious re-engagement after strains over trade imbalances, Beijing's ​ties with ‌Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war and ⁠tensions surrounding rare-earth export controls.

(Reporting ​by Liz Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Thomas Derpinghaus)