China's first court specializing in handling Internet-related cases opened on August 18 in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou to cater to the increasing number of online disputes.

The Hangzhou Internet Court in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, handles cases such as online trade disputes and copyright lawsuits.

The cases handled by the court will be tried online.

On August 17, the Hangzhou municipal legislature appointed the president, vice presidents and judges of the court.

Hangzhou is home to many Internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The latest report from the China Internet Network Information Center showed that China had about 751 million netizens and 724 million mobile Internet users as of the end of June.

As Chinese people increasingly turn to online shopping and payment, the Internet court provides a judicial guarantee for maintaining cyber security, resolving online disputes and promoting the integration of the Internet with society and the economy.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2017)