Strategic priorities for China's digital economy transformation
The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the digital economy and regards it as a strategic priority to promote high-quality economic and social development. In recent years, China's digital economy has maintained rapid growth, and its scale and proportion of GDP have continued to rise, which has become a new driving force for economic growth.
In 2022, the scale of China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world, with a year-on-year increase of 10.3%, accounting for 41.5% of GDP. Digital industrialization and industrial digitalization were driven by 9.2 trillion yuan and 41 trillion yuan, respectively, accounting for 18.3% and 81.7% of the digital economy.
The development of China's digital economy is mainly concentrated in the following key areas:
The emerging digital technology industry is booming. Traditional digital industries such as electronic information manufacturing, software and information technology services have become bigger and stronger. Emerging businesses such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have grown rapidly and become new economic growth points.
The deep integration of digital technology and the real economy is accelerating. Digital technology is widely used in production, circulation, consumption and other links, enabling the digital transformation of traditional industries. New models and new formats such as intelligent manufacturing, networked collaboration, personalized customization, and service-oriented are constantly emerging.
The government is vigorously promoting the construction of digital infrastructure. Accelerate the deployment of new infrastructure such as 5G networks, national integrated data center systems, and national industrial Internet to provide strong support for the development of the digital economy.
The level of digital governance continues to improve. Use big data and other digital technologies to improve the level of scientific government decision-making, precise social governance, and efficient public services.
In order to further develop the digital economy, China will focus on the following aspects:
The first is to strengthen the independent innovation capability of the digital industry, break through the "bottleneck" problem of key core technologies, and cultivate digital industrial clusters with international competitiveness.
The second is to deepen the digital transformation of industries, promote the deep integration of digital technology and traditional industries, and give birth to new industries, new business forms and new models.
The third is to improve the efficiency of digital governance, improve the construction of the data element market, and promote the efficient development and utilization of data resources.
Fourth, accelerate the construction of new digital infrastructure and form a national integrated computing power system to provide a solid foundation for the development of the digital economy.
Fifth, we will actively participate in global digital economy governance and promote the building of an open, fair and inclusive new digital economy order.
A key driver of China's digital economy
The key drivers for the development of China's digital economy mainly come from the following aspects:
The government's strategic deployment and policy support are the fundamental guarantee for promoting the development of the digital economy. The CPC Central Committee attaches great importance to the development of the digital economy, elevates it to a national strategy, and has introduced a series of major measures to create a good environment for the development of the digital economy.
Scientific and technological innovation is an inexhaustible driving force for the development of the digital economy. China has made breakthroughs in the field of next-generation information technology, and the rapid development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and 5G has provided strong technical support for the digital economy.
Market demand is the endogenous driving force for the development of the digital economy. China's super-large market and the unleashed potential of domestic demand provide a broad space for the development of the digital economy. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of the online economy and contactless service models, giving rise to a large number of new business formats and models.
Industrial integration is an important path for the development of the digital economy. Digital technology is accelerating the deep integration with traditional industries, empowering industrial transformation and upgrading, and promoting the digital, networked and intelligent process of manufacturing, service industry and other fields, becoming an important starting point for cultivating new momentum of the digital economy.
Talent team building is the key support for the development of the digital economy. China is accelerating the cultivation of interdisciplinary and cross-border talents needed for the development of the digital economy, and providing intellectual support for the sustainable development of the digital economy.
Driven by these key drivers, China's digital economy is developing in depth and presenting some new trends:
The first is to shift from scale expansion to quality improvement. China's digital economy is shifting from the pursuit of scale to the pursuit of quality, paying more attention to innovation capacity building and the cultivation of high-quality industries, and promoting the transformation of the digital economy from "bigger" to "stronger and better".
The second is to share from partial benefits to inclusive sharing. The digital economy is spreading from a single field to the entire economy and society, benefiting more and more inclusive, which is conducive to narrowing the digital divide and promoting common prosperity.
The third is to move from disorderly growth to healthy development. By strengthening regulation and governance, the digital economy is developing in a more standardized, orderly, and upright direction, laying the foundation for high-quality development.
Fourth, it is a transformation from traditional enterprises to new entity enterprises. With the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, traditional enterprises are transforming into new types of physical enterprises with digital technology capabilities and physical attributes, and have become a new force in the development of the digital economy.
Fifth, it is necessary to shift from the simple pursuit of growth to sustainable development. The development of the digital economy is shifting from the simple pursuit of economic growth to the pursuit of the coordination and unity of economic development with society and the environment, focusing on sustainability and inclusiveness.
Prospects and challenges for the development of China's digital economy
China's digital economy will continue to grow strongly, but it also faces some major challenges to address.
In terms of development prospects, China's digital economy will continue to play an important structural role and inject new momentum into high-quality economic and social development.
The digital economy will help China break out of the "middle-income trap" and achieve a smooth transition from middle-income to high-income levels. By promoting the digital transformation of industries, improving productivity and efficiency, and nurturing emerging digital industries, the digital economy will inject new vitality into economic growth.
The digital economy will help alleviate the pressure of labor shortages caused by an aging population. The wide application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics will make up for the shortage of labor, improve production efficiency, and provide new growth momentum for economic development.
The digital economy will promote the optimization and upgrading of China's industrial structure. The deep integration of the new generation of information technology with traditional industries will accelerate the transformation of traditional industries, cultivate emerging industrial clusters, and enhance the overall industrial competitiveness.
A sound digital infrastructure will lay a solid foundation for the development of the digital economy. The accelerated deployment of new infrastructure, such as 5G, industrial Internet, and data centers, will further unleash digital dividends.
The development of the digital economy also faces some major challenges and risks that require great attention:
The issue of the digital divide. There are significant differences in the level of digitalization between regions and groups, which may exacerbate inequality and affect the realization of the goal of common prosperity.
The problem of employment shocks. The development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation may lead to the replacement of a large number of traditional jobs, causing structural unemployment, and it is necessary to improve the social security system to deal with it.
Privacy and cybersecurity risks. The increasing application and networking of big data may exacerbate the risk of personal privacy leakage and cyber attacks, and it is necessary to strengthen network security governance.
The development of the digital economy may also promote monopoly and unfair competition, exacerbate industry concentration, and affect the level playing field, so it is necessary to strengthen anti-monopoly supervision.
Digital financial risks cannot be ignored. The rapid development of fintech may bring new systemic risks, and it is necessary to improve the regulatory system to prevent risk spillover.