City leads nation in digital economy
Beijing’s digital economy has seen strong development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), with its added value accounting for nearly 40% of the city’s GDP in 2019, the best among all cities in China, local officials said.
Pan Feng, deputy director of the Beijing Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said at a recent news conference that a solid foundation for the city’s development of the digital economy has taken shape over the past five years.
In addition to a series of favorable policies, Beijing hosts three supportive events annually — the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the ZGC Forum and the Financial Street Forum, Pan added.
“The digital economy is becoming a key driver for the city’s economic growth,” he said.
In 2019, Beijing’s software and information technology service industry registered 1.35 trillion yuan ($208.45 billion) in business revenue, up about 84.8% over the figure in 2016.
The capital was home to 38 of China’s top 100 internet companies in 2020, according to official data.
Thanks to the growing digital economy, remarkable progress has been made in the city’s industrial upgrading and transformation, Pan said.
Statistics show that the digitalization rate of production equipment in industrial enterprises above designated size — those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or more — had reached 65% by the end of 2020.
Last year, branches of the National Cybersecurity Industrial Park opened in three areas across the city, while the National Industrial Internet Big Data Center was put into trial operation.
An array of construction projects, such as a national demonstration zone for new industrialization in Fengtai district, are proceeding smoothly, according to Pan.
For the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Beijing will continue to focus on the digital economy and the service industry.
More efforts will be made to promote digital technology innovations, accelerate the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry and create broader application scenarios, Pan said.