On a high for hi-tech economy

Xi seeks deeper integration of digital development

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping has called for fostering deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy to promote high-quality economic development.

Xi made the remark yesterday in a congratulatory letter to 2019 China International Digital Economy Expo, which opened in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province.

In his letter, Xi said the booming digital economy is profoundly transforming people’s daily lives and production and will have a big impact on the world’s economic and social development, the global governance system and the development of human civilizations.

Xi said China has paid close attention to the development of the digital economy.

Guided by a new vision of innovative, coordinated, green and open development that is for everyone, the country is accelerating digital industrialisation and industrial digitalisation to foster deep integration of the digital economy and real economy and high-quality economic development, Xi emphasised.

He added that he hoped that participants will deepen communication and cooperation during the expo and discuss and share ways of developing the digital economy to better benefit people all over the world.

Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, said at the expo’s opening that the digital economy is becoming a key driving force for the development of emerging industries, the transformation and upgrading of traditional sectors and sustainable development.

“More efforts are needed to build the next-generation information infrastructure, develop the innovative industrial internet, make breakthroughs in core technologies and pursue the integrated development of information technologies and manufacturing,” Miao said. The expo is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Hebei’s provincial government and will end today. It includes exhibitions and a series of forums on topics such as the smart development of the Xiongan New Area in Hebei.

In 2018, China’s digital economy reached 31.3 trillion yuan (RM18.4 trillion), accounting for 34.8% of the country’s GDP, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Seeing the blossoming new trend, Hebei province has adopted a series of policies to support the development of digital economwy.

Hebei’s digital economy hit 1.04 trillion yuan (RM620bil) last year, which was 29% of its GDP.