Under the twin pressures of the profound restructuring of global digital trade ecosystems and the accelerating infiltration of artificial intelligence technologies, Economic and Trade English education is undergoing a fundamental epistemological transition—from a “language‑as‑instrument” perspective to a “strategic‑interface” paradigm. This paper systematically examines the contextual background and real‑world predicaments confronting the reform of Economic and Trade English instruction. It then elaborates on reform pathways along five dimensions: upgrading program objectives, restructuring curricula, innovating pedagogical models, deepening industry‑education integration, and embedding values‑oriented education. Drawing on reform practices from dozens of Chinese universities during 2025–2026, the study argues that the core direction of reform lies in achieving a triple integration—empowering business through language, enabling instruction through digital technologies, and shaping talent development through industrial demands—so as to construct a compound‑talent cultivation system suited to the digital economy. Successful reform requires bidirectional interaction between top‑level design and grassroots experimentation, a dialectical balance between technological application and educational principles, and synergistic progress in theoretical research and practical innovation.