Digital News

　　From smart cities to digital villages, from intelligent manufacturing to smart healthcare, digital technologies are permeating every aspect of our production and daily lives at an unprecedented pace. Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we have witnessed their vast potential to improve people’s well-being and enhance governance efficiency, as well as the vital importance of building a digital China in driving high-quality economic and social development.

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the information revolution has undergone an accelerated transformation from networking to digitalization and further toward intelligence. National strategic projects, represented by the establishment of eight national computing power hub nodes and ten national data center clusters, have emerged as key milestones in China’s drive to build new digital infrastructure. By the end of June this year, China’s total computing power ranked second in the world, and its AI patent filings accounted for 60% of the global total.

　　Meng Qingguo, Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, noted: “With this foundation in place, it will be much easier to build the edifice of digitalization.”

　　To leverage digital technologies for driving social development efficiently, robust digital infrastructure alone is not enough. It is equally crucial to accelerate data flows, promote the transformation of data into a true factor of production, and fully unlock its value.

　　Zhang Xianghong, a member of the National Data Expert Advisory Committee, stated: “The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized the need to build and utilize national data infrastructure, which means ensuring that data can flow and accelerating its circulation.”

　　Today, data has emerged as a strategic core resource in the digital economy, steadily empowering the transformation and upgrading of industries across the board. In Zhanjiang, Guangdong, the region’s centuries-old fishing industry is being fundamentally reshaped through data-driven innovation.

　　These fish were not caught in nearshore waters, but on the “Hengyi No.1,” a deep-sea aquaculture platform located 10 kilometers offshore. The Hengyi No.1 is highly sustainable, automated, and intelligent. Data is the cornerstone of intelligence. With it, fishermen no longer depend on intuition or experience; instead, every decision is guided by data-driven insights and powered by intelligent technologies.

　　Compared with traditional aquaculture, data-driven smart fisheries demonstrate substantial advantages. Feed conversion ratios drop by 20–40%, fish growth rates improve by over 10%, labor costs are reduced by 60%, and economic returns increase by more than 30%.

　　China’s data industry is currently expanding rapidly and has emerged as a key driver of the digital economy. By 2024, the number of data enterprises nationwide will surpass 400,000, and the data industry’s total value is projected to reach 5.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 117% compared with the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, digitalization has not only empowered production but also greatly enhanced the accessibility and equity of public services. In particular, the convenience of telemedicine has brought significant benefits to patients.

　　In 2016, Xiao Huang was diagnosed with thalassemia. After several years of treatment, his condition had somewhat improved, but prolonged medication had severely damaged his kidneys. Consequently, he and his family turned to Bozhou District People’s Hospital, the nearest hospital to their home, for help.

　　Two years ago, this hospital established a partnership with Ruijin Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, enabling joint consultations through its telemedicine system. Director Wang of Ruijin’s Nephrology Department crafted a completely new, personalized treatment plan for Xiao Huang. To date, the district-level hospital has built online collaborative diagnostic and treatment networks involving nearly a thousand physicians from 38 Grade-A tertiary hospitals across Shanghai.

　　Song Yuanmao, Director of Bozhou District People’s Hospital in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, said: “The greatest impact has been a win-win result for all parties: patients enjoy greater convenience, local hospitals can retain their patients, the government saves on healthcare funding, and major hospitals achieve better patient flow management.”

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s Internet hospitals handled over 100 million visits annually, and direct settlement for cross-province medical treatment has benefited 560 million people. The country has also built the world’s largest and most resource-rich national smart education platform, and 1.07 billion citizens now hold electronic social security cards. Digital technologies have made public services more inclusive and convenient, daily life smarter and more enjoyable, and social governance more targeted and efficient.