Under the background of global shipping digital transformation, expanding the use of electronic documents in maritime trade will benefit the digital upgrade of the shipping industry chain and promote high-quality development in shipping and foreign trade. However, the absence of provisions for electronic bills of lading in Chinese Maritime Code creates obstacles for implementation of electronic shipping documents. Establishing electronic shipping documents regime should be guided by the value of safety, efficiency and fairness, follow the principles of functional equivalence, non-discrimination, and technological neutrality as outlined in ecommerce law. It should also follow the principle of legal internationalization while considering the international nature of shipping and cross-border trade. Guided by the above principles, and taking into account the relationship between general law and special law, the minimum intervention method is proposed. That is, Chinese Maritime Code after revision only establishes special rules for electronic shipping documents based on the e-commerce law, and stipulates the definition of the electronic shipping document, right of choose to use electronic shipping documents, reliability guarantee, functional equivalence and change of form of electronic shipping documents.