Digital technology helps deliver smooth running of Games
The Beijing 2022 Winter Games will be remembered for the fierce passion and courage of athletes competing from all over the world. It will also be remembered for its utilization of digital technology.
Wang Lei, deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, made the remarks at a news conference in February.
A slew of technological achievements applied to the Games, which ended on Feb 20, included digital media, intelligent communications, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and digital twin technologies, as well as those related to smart city, medical services and transport.
Among them were kitchen robots that provided services round-the-clock, ranging from ordering and cooking to delivery; multifunctional intelligent beds in the Olympic Village; an ultrahigh-speed 4K orbital camera system installed in the National Speed Skating Oval; and the world’s first city-level 8K high-definition broadcasting system.
Wang cited the Games’ opening ceremony as a representative application of digital technologies, as technological progress has opened the door for realizing creative ideas and imagination. The state-of-theart technologies will be used after the Games and “continue to benefit the public”.
The impressive competitions and smooth operation of related venues during the Games, which won acclaim from home and abroad, showcased the progress in Beijing’s digital economy, he noted.
The city has a strong software and information service industry, with its output ranking first among Chinese provincial regions, Wang said.
Government data show that after the sector’s business revenue surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($157.67 billion) in 2018, the figure doubled within the following three years to 2.2 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 25.7% of China’s total.
Beijing set a goal to build itself into a global digital economy benchmark city and released an implementation plan in August 2021. The move gave a boost to the city’s digital economy. Its digital economy’s added value reached 1.6 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 40.4% of the city’s GDP.
The city government encourages research on the frontiers of science and technology. It is ramping up construction of digital infrastructure, accelerating the pace of developing industrial clusters, and improving related legislation and rules.
To date, 52,000 5G stations have been built in Beijing, covering the area within the Fifth Ring Road and key sites outside the road. The authorities called on researchers and businesses to make breakthroughs in 6G technological solutions, according to Wang.
Digital services have penetrated daily lives. In Beijing, about 90% of administrative services at municipal level and 82% at district level are offered online. The city’s “Health Kit” mini program running on the WeChat social platform has provided some 13 billion services to more than 100 million people for health status inquiry.
Beijing places emphasis on global cooperation in the digital economy. It hosted a series of annual events such as the World Robot Conference and the World 5G Convention last year.