Digitalization promotes China's social, economic development

SHANGHAI -- From travel records to help fight the COVID-19 epidemic to QR codes on parcels that are scanned before delivery, as well as online courses taken by Chinese students at home, more and more digital technologies are becoming integral parts of life in China.

The China Urban Digital Economy Forum, which recently concluded in Shanghai, saw representatives from governments and related enterprises jointly focus on the country's digital development and its future application in people's lives and the economy.

Zhang Lijun, vice president of Tencent, said digital technologies, taking health codes as an example, have played an increasingly important role in Chinese cities amid the epidemic.

About 900 million people have used health codes via WeChat since February, with more than 50 billion visits, he added.

In addition, digital technologies have promoted poverty alleviation in Guiyang, the capital city of southwest China's Guizhou province, said Sun Zhiming, the city's vice mayor.

"Big data can accurately identify the situation of each family and help farmers develop rural e-commerce," he said, adding that Guiyang has more than 600 e-commerce offices at present.

According to a report released in November, China's digital economy reached 35.8 trillion yuan (about $5.49 trillion) in 2019, accounting for 36.2 percent of the country's total GDP.

Among the world's top 10 companies by market capitalization, seven are from the digital economy field, said Jiang Bo, chairman of a Shanghai-based company specializing in the digital economy, adding that data is the core factor to drive high-quality economic development.