Wide use of data, Internet of Things to transform industries

THE integration of digital economy and traditional industries will become a major trend for China’s economic development, the head of a Chinese information technology think tank said yesterday.

The pace of digital transformation across industries will greatly accelerate, especially with wide applications of big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, 5G and blockchain technologies, said Yu Xiaohui, director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a scientific institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China.

“New digital technologies will increase the production efficiency of traditional industries, drive their dynamics and accelerate upgrades and transformation,” Yu told the eighth China Industrial Internet Summit in Baoshan District.

The summit titled “Digital Economy — New Driver of Industrial Upgrading” was held at the China Baowu Steel Conference and Convention Center, renovated from what was once the tallest iron-steel boiler in Shanghai.

It was a key preview event for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which begins today in Shanghai. Government and company officials as well as experts shared their opinions on AI plus manufacturing, the digital transformation of industrial groups and development of the industrial Internet.

The district has hosted the annual forum for eight consecutive years.

Baoshan, the city’s former iron-steel center, will use the summit as an opportunity to develop the digital economy, online new economy and digitalization to transform traditional industries, said Chen Jie, Party secretary of Baoshan.

The northern district aims to become a key front for Shanghai’s ambition to become a scientific innovation center with global influence.