Digital Silk Road strengthening commerce ties

International cooperation forum at internet conference looks to future

For centuries, the ancient Silk Road trade route connected East and West. In this technological era, it is being revitalized with synergized government development strategies, people-to-people bonds and cross-border e-commerce.

The International Cooperation along the Digital Silk Road Forum was held on Thursday during the Fifth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province, with Chinese government officials, overseas dignitaries and tech heavyweights discussing challenges and solutions for a digital future.

"The Belt and Road is based on the legendary history of the Silk Road. But now, we are trading more than silk and no longer using camels. Rather, we are using fintech, online education, smart city development and artificial intelligence to digitalize the modern economy," said Liu Liehong, vice-minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China.

The Digital Silk Road was first initiated by China in 2015. It covers more than 65 countries and counting, and involves helping other countries to build digital infrastructure and to develop internet security.

"The digital economy is an increasingly important driver of global economic growth and plays a significant role in accelerating economic development, enhancing productivity of existing industries, cultivating new markets and industries, and achieving inclusive, sustainable growth," Liu said.

A report released by the Cyberspace Administration of China said that the size of China's digital economy grew to 27.2 trillion yuan ($3.9 trillion) last year, up 20.3 percent year-on-year, accounting for 32.9 percent of the country's GDP.

Efforts should also be made to promote cooperation in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road routes to develop the digital economy; to promote deep integration between the internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and the real economy; and to make the manufacturing, agricultural, and service sectors more digitalized, smart and internet-powered, Liu said.

Chen Zhaoxiong, vice-minister of industry and information technology said China will strengthen cooperation to explore cutting-edge technologies and to accelerate digital transformation, so that rapid tech advancements can benefit people in countries involved in the Digital Silk Road.

He called for more efforts to make breakthroughs in key technologies, such as microchips and smart sensors, to participate in international standard-setting activities, to apply new industrial internet technologies and products to key industries, and to accelerate the development of the internet of vehicles and the internet of things.

"We will make a big push to develop the industrial internet in three aspects," Chen said. "First, we will promote the construction of a high-speed broadband network, including 5G connections. Second, we need to build internet application platforms for large firms and public service platforms for small and medium-sized companies. Third, we must attach great importance to the safety of industrial data."