China joined 25 other countries on Monday in signing the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents in Accra, Ghana, marking a significant step towards modernizing international trade rules and facilitating cross-border transport and trade financing, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Jiang Chenghua, China's vice-minister of commerce, attended the signing ceremony and signed the convention on behalf of the Chinese government, according to a statement released by the ministry on Tuesday.

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The event drew around 400 participants from delegations representing more than 60 countries and regions. China and Ghana were among the 26 initial signatories, with the convention subsequently opening for signature at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Ministry of Commerce said the new rules are designed to enable businesses to use cargo documents for financing and commercial transactions across different transport modes, helping ease financing pressures, reduce transaction costs for overland trade and improve the efficiency of global supply chains.

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China stands ready to work with other countries to complete domestic ratification procedures as soon as possible and encourages more nations to join the convention, allowing its benefits to reach a wider range of economies and contribute to global trade growth, the ministry added.