Digital News

　　According to media reports, the Global Opinion Research Center at Renmin University of China recently released the 2025 Report on Global Public Awareness of Digital Technology. The survey reveals that 86% of global respondents view China as advanced in digital technology, with 92.2% from developing countries and 75.2% from developed countries. At present, China continues to expand its digital technology applications, significantly enhances its intelligence capabilities, and has achieved remarkable results in the integration of digital and physical worlds.

　　The data shows that in 2024, the added value of core industries in China’s digital economy accounted for approximately 10% of GDP. Significant breakthroughs have been made in areas like integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, industrial software, and foundational software. The role of digital innovation in driving development has been greatly enhanced, and the competitiveness and influence of the digital economy continue to grow steadily. In addition, the digital economy governance system has been further refined, providing robust momentum for the sustainable and healthy development of both the economy and society. In 2019, six regions, i.e., Hebei Province (Xiong’an New Area), Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Chongqing Municipality, and Sichuan Province, were officially designated as national-level pilot zones for the innovation and development of the digital economy, marking the beginning of their construction. Each zone has leveraged its unique advantages and structural transformation characteristics to boldly explore areas such as digital economy element circulation mechanisms, new production relations, element resource allocation, and industrial clustering models, effectively unleashing new drivers of growth.

　　To enhance the support for digital technologies and foster the healthy development of China’s digital economy, the country continues to roll out policy incentives. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Economy Development, issued by the State Council, outlines a series of measures to optimize and upgrade digital infrastructure, fully leverage the role of data elements, drive the digital transformation of industries, accelerate the industrialization of digital technologies, and continuously enhance the digitalization of public services. The Plan for the Overall Layout of Building a Digital China, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in 2023, emphasizes the need to accelerate the innovation and application of digital technologies, promote the deep integration of digital technologies with the real economy, and optimize the digital development environment, and so on. Local governments have actively taken steps and developed strategic plans. For example, Beijing introduced the Outline of Action Plan for Promoting Digital Economy Innovation and Development in Beijing (2020-2022), and Anhui Province released the Action Plan for Accelerating High-Quality Development of the Digital Economy (2024-2026). A range of policies has been implemented, creating a strong synergy that provides a solid foundation for the high-quality development of digital technologies.

　　However, digital technologies still face challenges, such as the difficulty in overcoming core technological barriers, impeded circulation mechanism of data elements, and imbalanced industrial digital transformation. To address these issues, coordinated efforts are required in areas such as systems and mechanisms, technological innovation, and ecosystem development.

　　Improve systems and mechanisms. Position digital technologies at the heart of the national innovation system and establish a full-chain policy system covering basic research, application development, and commercialization of achievements. Accelerate the establishment of a data property rights system, clarify rules for the ownership, circulation, and transactions of data elements, and build a data governance system that balances security and efficiency. Deepen the reform to delegate power, streamline administration and optimize government services, remove institutional barriers restricting the application of digital technologies, and establish a cautious and inclusive regulatory mechanism to provide room for trial-and-error and error-tolerance for new technologies, models, and business forms. Improve the digital economy statistical monitoring system, develop standards for evaluating the value of digital technologies, and form a scientific and standardized digital economy governance system.

　　Strengthen technological breakthroughs. Focus on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence algorithms, high-end chip design, and quantum information science, and implement projects to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. Increase investment in basic research, promote deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and establish open-source communities and generic technology platforms for digital technologies. Cultivate globally competitive digital technology leaders, support the establishment of key digital technology laboratories and innovation centers, and create a full-chain innovation system that covers basic research, technological breakthroughs, and commercialization of achievements. Strengthen the development of digital technology standards, enhance voice in the formulation of international rules, and build an open, win-win digital technology cooperation ecosystem.

　　Deepen the integration of applications. Promote the full-chain penetration of digital technologies into the real economy, accelerate the intelligent and digital transformation of manufacturing, and create a new industrial system that fosters the symbiosis of the virtual and physical worlds. Expand the application scenarios of digital technologies, and cultivate integrated new forms of business in fields such as biomanufacturing, smart energy, and digital finance. Build cross-industry, cross-field collaborative platforms for digital technologies to promote technology sharing and the efficient circulation of elements. Plan and develop ecosystems for future industries such as digital twins and the metaverse, forming a tiered and diversified digital technology application system.