Chinese Government Seeks Global Digital Economy Push
Xu Wei
DATE:  Jul 23 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Chinese Government Seeks Global Digital Economy Push Chinese Government Seeks Global Digital Economy Push

(Yicai Global) July 23 -- China’s government has proposed encouraging digital enterprises to speed up construction of overseas research and development centers and strengthen cooperation with tech firms abroad in areas such as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain, according to a notice posted on the commerce ministry’s website today.

Companies will be encouraged to seize opportunities in the overseas digital infrastructure market and construct communications network infrastructure such as land and sea optical cables and broadband networks, per new guidelines. They should also build satellite communications, big data centers, fifth-generation mobile and cloud computing infrastructure, to provide digital services globally.

The Guidelines for Outward Investment Cooperation in Digital Economy were jointly issued by the ministries of commerce and industry and the cyberspace regulator.

China's digital economy has developed rapidly in recent years, reaching CNY39.2 trillion (USD6.1 trillion) last year and accounting for 38.6 percent of gross domestic product, a year-on-year nominal rise of 9.7 percent, much higher than the national GDP growth rate of 2.3 percent, according to the White Paper on China's Digital Economy Development previously released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

But the proportion of digital trade is still low around the world, offering potential for China's future development, said Li Daokui, dean of the Institute for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking at Tsinghua University.

The new guidelines also encourage manufacturers to take part in the digitization and automation process of the global manufacturing industrial chain, and to accelerate cooperation in the sharing economy, electronic payments and telemedicine.

Digital enterprises with international competitiveness need to be developed and private companies should enter overseas markets to carry out localized operations, according to the guidelines.

The guidelines also propose improvements to the outward investment filing and reporting system, strengthening monitoring and analysis, improving the digital management of foreign investment and cooperation, and enhancing information sharing and cooperative supervision among departments.

In addition, companies will be encouraged to build overseas digital economic and trade cooperation zones, as well as establish tech innovation platforms abroad and promote cross-border e-commerce.

Editor: Tom Litting

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Keywords:   digital economy