Visitors check their phones behind a screen displaying facial recognition software at the Global Mobile Internet Conference at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing

After years of growth, China’s digital economy has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful economic engines. Against this backdrop, China has made the digital economy an important component of its national development plan, laying out a precise roadmap and offering incentives to boost the sector. Simultaneously, the country is striving to ensure a healthy growth of the digital economy sector through a variety of regulatory initiatives. 

Over the last decade, China’s digital economy has grown at an exponential rate. The digital infrastructure is expanding at a phenomenal pace. According to sources from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, as of early September, China’s 5G base stations totalled 1.97 million, with nearly 500 million users. China boasts some of the world’s largest and most advanced 5G network infrastructure. Furthermore, the country has accelerated big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence integration. By 2025, China will account for about 30 percent of total global data volume, with the widest range of data categories.   

National priority  

China has prioritised the digital economy in its national development agenda. The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Digital Economy (2021-2025) lays out a thorough roadmap as well as incentives to help the sector to grow. China will enhance skills in important sectors such as sensors, quantum information, communications, integrated circuits and blockchain, as well as advanced technologies such as 6G, according to the plan. The digital transformation of the supply chains will also be accelerated in order to better utilize data resources and strengthen digital economy governance. 

The five-year plan also affirms the objective of raising the share of the added value of the core digital industries (value-added services, software, and information technology) in the national GDP from 7.8 percent in 2020 to 10 percent by 2025. Other targets include expanding the proportion of Chinese industrial businesses connected to the industrial Internet platforms to 45 percent by 2025 and increasing the number of Chinese homes with giga-speed broadband Internet connections to 60 million. 

The plan highlights the need for strengthening cyber security and data security. China has implemented many regulatory measures to address concerns such as data misuse and market monopolies for this fast-growing industry, particularly the platform economy. These measures will ensure a fair market environment and improve governance, while preserving the strength and innovation of this dynamic sector. 

A worker processes glass fibre for electronic use in an industrial park in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province

Digital currency 

Online or mobile payments, which lower transaction costs and increase financial system efficiency, are not new to Chinese citizens. China is making tremendous headway in this sector, thanks to the advent of “super apps” led by Tencent’s WeChat and Alibaba’s Alipay. 

China’s digital currency, or digital yuan, is the country’s first official endeavour to establish a digital payment system. The adoption of the digital currency in China will boost the infrastructure for long-term growth of the Chinese digital economy, and will have a substantial influence on businesses. 

But why does China wish to roll out the digital yuan since it already has a sophisticated mobile payment system? 

That’s because no digital payment method, not even a “super app,” can be used in all situations due to competition between various payment platforms and their parent companies. In contrast, the digital yuan has the same legal standing as the physical yuan and offers the public a flexible means of payment that can be used for any transaction. The digital yuan can break the data monopoly that major technology companies currently hold by integrating data held by various organisations. This will also foster an open environment that will better serve users’ needs and ensure a smooth operation of the digital economy.   

Role in reducing poverty 

I received an invitation to travel to Xingxian District in north China’s Shanxi Province as a representative of Moroccan youth from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, one of the key non-governmental organisations of foreign relations in China. 

I paid close attention to how the digital economy aids farmers in their struggle against poverty during this tour. 

I also discovered that careful selection, thorough processing, inventive packaging and online sales may increase the value of some of the region’s traditional agricultural products. 

Agricultural economies now have a new appearance thanks to the marketing of rural goods through online stores and live shopping platforms. I’ve seen that the pace of poverty elimination has increased thanks to the digital economy. 

Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show that the value of online retail sales of agricultural products in the first half of this year reached 290 billion yuan ($41.67 billion), a year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent. It has now become a powerful tool to raise rural incomes. 

As for Africa, I believe that African nations can benefit from China’s experience and achievements in the digital economy to speed up their growth, and catch up with the global development.  

The author is doctoral student at the School of Information Management, Wuhan University