Officials: China to intensify efforts for digital infrastructure construction

China will ratchet up efforts to accelerate the building of digital infrastructure and leverage innovative digital technologies to bolster industrial upgrade, as part of a broader push to foster new quality productive forces and promote deeper integration of the digital and real economies, officials and company executives said.

Zhuang Rongwen, head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, stressed the need to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, nurture strategic emerging fields and develop future-oriented industries, as well as build digital industry clusters that are globally competitive.

Zhuang made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Global Digital Economy Conference 2024, which kicked off on Tuesday in Beijing. He also called for efforts to advance high-standard opening-up and expand international cooperation in the digital economy domain.

More efforts are needed to speed up the construction of digital infrastructure and basic systems for data, facilitate the development of the digital economy and improve the digitalization level of public services, said Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration.

Highlighting that data has served as a new type of production factor, Liu said the administration will step up policy support and plans to roll out eight guidelines covering data property rights, circulation, revenue distribution, security governance, and the development and utilization of public and enterprise data this year.

Liu emphasized the significance of bolstering the development of artificial intelligence, optimizing the layout of intelligent computing centers and promoting the application of AI in various fields.

China has unveiled a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a "Digital China" by 2025. By 2035, China will be at the global forefront of digital development.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said his ministry will push forward the industrialization of digital technologies and the digital transformation of industries, accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries like big data and artificial intelligence, and ramp up research and development of cutting-edge technologies including blockchain and digital twins.

China has made remarkable achievements in building digital infrastructure. Statistics from the ministry show that the country had built 3.837 million 5G base stations by the end of May, accounting for 60 percent of the global total.

Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Chinese cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin Technology Group, said new cybersecurity challenges — such as cyberattacks and data leakages — have appeared along with the rapid development and application of AI technology, adding that the company has launched a large language model to fend off potential cyberattacks.

Qi said greater efforts should be made to strengthen international exchanges on cybersecurity standards and technological innovation related to cybersecurity.

Feng Qiang, vice-chairman of Chinese display panel supplier BOE Technology Group Co Ltd, said the company is stepping up efforts to use digital technologies to empower digital transformation of traditional enterprises.

Based on rich experience in intelligent manufacturing capacities, BOE has established an industrial internet platform, which provides digital transformation services for manufacturing firms across the nation and helps them boost productivity.