China's Digital Economy Forging Ahead

The proportion of the digital economy in China's GDP rose from 21.6 percent to 39.8 percent in the past decade, with its scale increasing from 11 trillion RMB in 2012 to more than 45 trillion RMB in 2021, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

As digital technology continues to assist industrial transformation and upgrading, the digital economy has become a highlight of China's economic development and international collaboration.

Building digital China

China has made the digital economy a part of national strategy since 2012. The digital economy development is highlighted in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which aims to build China a digital country and to raise the added value proportion of core digital economy industries in its GDP to 10 percent by 2025.

The digital village plan is an important step toward China's rural modernization and sustainable development goals. Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported e-commerce in China's rural areas has helped boost urban and rural consumption and inject new impetus into local economic development.

Smart farming is seen as the highlight of China's modern agriculture, according to Brazil's Notícias Agrícolas, adding that the Internet companies with technical advantages in the fields of big data, cloud computing and digital payment have become major force in promoting agricultural transformation.

The digital economy also offered thousands of employments. From video recording to live streaming e-commerce on platforms, new online professions are emerging in China and creating more than 100 million job opportunities, said Spain's EL PAS.

Booming amid pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has granted an increase in digital payments amid the global financial services, according to the Word Bank.

Over the past ten years, paying by mobile phone has become a global trend. In China, 82 percent of adults choose to make digital merchant payments, according to the Global Findex database.

Bloomberg reported more money has been poured into digital infrastructure to roll out new laws, and build data centers to "position China as a leader in the digital economy."

China's digital fiat currency, or e-CNY, has been tested in more than 10 locations nationwide, with various scenarios such as retail and government services. Data from the country's central bank showed e-CNY transactions hit nearly 87.57 billion RMB at the end of 2021.

Reuters said China is using the digital yuan to stimulate consumption in its pandemic-hit economy, with more e-CNY applications expected in future to boost transparency and effectiveness of government policies.

Promoting international cooperation

China will continue to advance its accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), an international agreement that establishes approaches and collaboration in digital trade, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

Reuters said China believed that applying to join DEPA will help strengthen cooperation with other countries in digital economy, innovation and sustainable development.

At the 14th BRICS Summit held in June, BRICS countries reached an agreement on BRICS Digital Economy Partnership Framework, specifying the direction and key areas of cooperation as well as measures for digital economy cooperation.

South Africa's The Star described China's proposals for China-Africa Partnership Plan on Digital Innovation as one of that will explore broader cooperation to help Africa strengthen digital infrastructure and promote the building of a community of shared future in cyberspace.

According to Russia's Tass, China will build an underwater cable system called SEA-H2X in the south of the country by 2024 to improve internet connection between China's regions and Southeast Asia countries. The implementation of this project will significantly increase the pace of digitalization in the Asian region, and increase the speed of information transmission via Internet channels.

This article originally appeared in the Science and Technology Daily newspaper