Asnotedinthereporttothe19thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC),China’seconomyhasshiftedfromaphaseofhigh-speedgrowthtoastageofhigh-qualitydevelopmentandisnowfacingacriticalperiodoftransformingdevelopmentmode,optimizingeconomicstructureandshiftinggrowthmomentum.
Intheprocessofthetransformationfromoldtonewdrivingforces,anumberofemergingindustries,suchasthedigitaleconomy,high-endequipmentmanufacturing,bio-pharmaceuticals,andculturalandcreativeindustries,areacceleratinggrowth.Developmentofthedigitaleconomyhasbeenparticularlyrapid,andithasbecomeanewdrivingforceforChina’seconomicdevelopmentintheneweraandanewbusinesscardforforeigncontacts.
AccordingtothedefinitionagreeduponattheG20HangzhouSummit,thedigitaleconomyreferstoabroadrangeofeconomicactivitiesthatusedigitizedinformationandknowledgeasthekeyfactorofproduction,moderninformationnetworksasanimportantactivityspace,andinformationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)asanimportantdriverofproductivitygrowthandeconomicstructuraloptimization.
Thedigitaleconomycontinuestoexpand,drivenbynewgenerationsofinformationtechnologiessuchascloudcomputing,InternetofThingsandartificialintelligence(AI),emergingfromanarrowsenseofdigitalindustrializationtothemoreextensivedigitizationofindustries.
Inadditiontotraditionaltelecommunicationsandelectronicproductmanufacturing,softwareservices,andtheinternet,thedigitaleconomyhaspenetratedintomanynon-informationindustries,playinganincreasinglyimportantroleinsectorssuchasintelligentmanufacturing,modernagricultureandthe“InternetPlus.”
Thedigitaleconomyisatechnology-andtalent-intensivesectorwithstronginnovationdynamismandsignificantimprovementintotalfactorproductivity.
Afteraneconomicdownturn,thedigitaleconomyisoftenakeydriverforrecovery.Forexample,statisticsfromthe2017PCT(PatentCooperationTreaty)releasedbytheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganizationshowthatcomputingtechnologyanddigitalcommunicationsrankedtoptwoinalltechnologicalfieldsintermsofthenumberofpatentsapplied,whiledigitaleconomy-relatedcompaniesoccupiedsixseatsinthetoptenenterprises.
Amidthedigitalwave,allcountriesintheworldhavejoinedthedigitalrevolutionandarecompetingforapieceofthedigitaleconomy—thefutureindustrialgoldmine.
By2015,27of34OECD(Orga-nizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment)membercountrieshadformulatednationalstrategiesrelatedtothedigitaleconomy.
Ofthetop10listedcompaniesintheworldin2017,digitalcompaniestooksevenseats,ledbyApple,Google,andMicrosoft.
AccordingtoAccenture’scalculations,theGDPshareofthedigitaleconomyinmostcountriesisexpectedtoincreasebythreepercentagepointsfrom2015to2020,equivalenttoa12.5-percentincreaseinglobaleconomicoutputvalue.
ChinaisalsoseizingtheopportunitytodevelopthedigitaleconomybyenactingaseriesofguidelinesincludingtheGuidanceonActivelyPromotingthe“InternetPlus”Initiative,DevelopmentProgramforIntelligentManufacturing(2016-2020)andNewGenerationofArtificialIntelligenceDevelopmentPlan.
StatisticsfromtheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyshowthatin2017,China’sdigitaleconomyreached27.2trillionyuan,accountingfor32.9percentofitsGDP,andcontributed55percenttoitsGDPgrowth.
Agroupofoutstandinginternetcompanieshaveemerged.TencentandAlibabarankamongthetop10listedcompaniesintheworld.Ofthe164unicorncompaniesannouncedbytheMinistryofScienceandTechnologyin2017,145aredigitaleconomy-relatedcompanies,whichcapturednineofthetop10spots.
Still,againstthebackdropoftheslowdowninthegrowthofthedomesticmarket,digitaleconomy-relatedcompanieshavebeguntoexploreoverseasmarkets.TheDigitalSilkRoadhasbecomeahighlightintheconstructionoftheBeltandRoad.
Chinesesmartphonebrandscanbefoundacrosstheworld.Huaweihassolditsproductsin170countriesandregionsaroundtheworld.XiaomihasmadeimpressiveprogressintheIndianmarket.TecnocellphoneshavebecomepopularinAfrica.
AlthoughChinahasbecomeabigdigitaleconomy,itisyettobeadigitaleconomicpower,andstilllagsbehindtheUnitedStates,theworldleaderinthisregard.
Inthecoretechnologiesofthedigitaleconomyrepresentedbyintegratedcircuitsandinfrastructuresoftware,Chinastilldependsonothers.IndependentinnovationinChinaemphasizesinnovationmodes.TheZTEincidentthatemergedinAprilservedasawakeupcall.
Theintellectuallyintensivefeatureofthedigitaleconomyalsomakesithighlydemandingintheindustriallayout.RelatedcompaniesarehighlyconcentratedinfourlargecitiesinChina:Beijing,Shanghai,HangzhouandShenzhen.Developmentofcentralandwesternregionsisrelativelylackingandprimarilydistributedatthelowendofthevaluechain.
Asawhole,thedigitaleconomyhasbecomeanewdriverofChina’seconomicgrowthintheneweraandwilldomuchtobuildamoderneconomicsystem.TheauthorisvicepresidentandprofessoroftheSchoolofEconomicsatPekingUniversityandheadoftheBeijingPhilosophyandSocialScienceResearchCenterforChina’sUrbanEconomy.