The expert team of Henan Provincial People's Hospital provides remote consultation for People's Hospital in Fanxian County via Internet in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Jianan)
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's digital economy has accelerated during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), official data revealed last Friday showed.
According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the country has seen its digital economy grow by more than 16.6 percent annually during 2016-2020. By the end of last year, the added-value of core digital industry has made up about 7.8 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP).
"China's efforts in digital economy have underpinned its goal of building a digitalized country," said Yang Yuyan, an official with the MIIT.
The country has attached great importance to the digital economy by rolling out guidelines and industrial standards to ensure its high-quality development. Local governments have also responded to the national call by promoting industrial parks and pilot programs.
As a result, solid foundation has been laid in the industry. In the past five years, China completed construction of optical fiber networks and 4G networks, with the largest scale in the world. Industries such as software, information services and communication have developed rapidly in the country. Taking software industry as an example, China's software industry raked in 8.16 trillion yuan (about 1.25 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, up 13.3 percent year on year.
The booming digital industries have also fueled digitalization of traditional sectors. In the manufacturing sector, more than 80 industrial Internet platforms have been established, empowering traditional industries in both efficiency and quality. In information service sector, new business models emerged, such as online education, telecommuting, and e-commerce, playing a significant role amid the pandemic.
In the future, Yang said, the ministry will intensify efforts in developing strategic emerging industries, like big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and the blockchain, aiming to build a number of globally competitive digital industrial clusters.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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