Major Announcement! Cyberspace Administration of China Releases the 'Digital China Development Report (2021)'

Digital economy scale ranks second in the world, internet penetration rate increases to 73%, 5G base stations account for more than 60% of the global total, data output accounts for 9.9% of the global total, R&D investment of listed internet companies has increased by 227% in the past four years, the largest network infrastructure scale in the world...Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017 clearly proposed the construction of a digital China, the construction of digital China has achieved remarkable achievements from laying a solid foundation to accumulating strength and making unremitting efforts.

On July 23, the fifth Digital China Construction Summit opened in Fuzhou. At the opening ceremony, Cao Shumin, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, released the "Digital China Development Report (2021)", introducing the remarkable achievements made in the construction of digital China and making a prospect for the construction of digital China in 2022.

First, the world's largest and most technologically advanced network infrastructure has been built. As of the end of 2021, China has built 1.425 million 5G base stations, accounting for more than 60% of the global total, with 355 million 5G users and 34.56 million Gigabit users. Broadband access rate in administrative villages and poverty-stricken villages has reached 100%. As of the end of 2021, the total amount of IPv6 address resources ranks first in the world, and the number of active IPv6 users has reached 608 million. The computing power scale ranks second in the world, and the average annual growth rate of computing power in the past five years has exceeded 30%.

Second, the value of data resources is accelerating its release. From 2017 to 2021, China's data output increased from 2.3ZB to 6.6ZB, accounting for 9.9% of the global total and ranking second in the world. The scale of the big data industry has grown rapidly, from 470 billion yuan in 2017 to 1.3 trillion yuan in 2021. Positive progress has been made in the opening up of public data. From 2017 to 2021, the number of provincial public data open platforms nationwide increased from 5 to 24, and the number of open effective datasets increased from 8398 to nearly 250,000. Various places are actively exploring data governance rules, cultivating data element markets, and promoting data circulation, transactions, and development and utilization.

Third, the ability of digital technology innovation is rapidly improving. 5G has achieved comprehensive leadership in technology, industry, and application, high-performance computing maintains its advantages, and Beidou navigation satellites have achieved global coverage and large-scale application. The ability of independent research and development of chips has steadily improved, and the performance of domestic operating systems has greatly improved. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, blockchain, and quantum information have joined the first echelon in the world. In 2021, China's number of PCT international patent applications in the information field exceeded 30,000, a 60% increase from 2017, accounting for more than one-third of the global total. China's internet companies pay more attention to innovation. From 2017 to 2021, the R&D investment of listed internet companies increased by 227%.

Fourth, the scale of digital economy development is globally leading. From 2017 to 2021, China's digital economy scale increased from 27.2 trillion yuan to 45.5 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world, with an average annual compound growth rate of 13.6%, and its share of GDP increased from 32.9% to 39.8%, becoming one of the main engines driving economic growth. Digital transformation is accelerating, the level of agricultural production informatization is rapidly improving, the application of industrial internet has covered 45 major categories of the national economy, and the volume of e-commerce transactions has increased from 29 trillion yuan in 2017 to 42 trillion yuan in 2021.

Fifth, the efficiency of digital government governance and services has been significantly enhanced. China's online service index for e-government has risen to 9th place globally. "Mobile office" and "fingertip office" have become the standard configuration of government services in various places, and "one-stop service" and "cross-provincial service" have achieved positive results. More than 90% of provincial administrative licensing matters have been accepted online and implemented the "minimum running once" policy. Digital anti-epidemic measures have accelerated the interoperability and sharing of data between departments and between the central and local governments. The popularity and use of health codes have reached an unprecedented level, and the safety and stability performance has been greatly improved. Since January 2022, the average carrying capacity of health code systems nationwide has increased by 7 times. Health codes have evolved from the initial "tens of thousands of codes" to basically achieving "one code per province", and gradually promoting cross-provincial "interoperability and mutual recognition". Digital anti-epidemic measures have played a crucial role in coordinating the prevention and control of the epidemic and economic and social development. The epidemic has accelerated the process of digitalization, and digitalization has strongly supported economic and social development and government public services under the epidemic.

Sixth, digital social services are becoming more inclusive and convenient. From 2017 to 2021, China's netizen population increased from 772 million to 1.032 billion, and the internet penetration rate increased to 73%, especially in rural areas, where the internet penetration rate increased to 57.6%, and the gap in internet penetration rate between urban and rural areas narrowed by 11.9 percentage points. The national smart education platform is accelerating its construction, and all primary and secondary schools (including teaching points) in China have been connected to the internet. A nationwide unified medical insurance information platform has been built, realizing self-service registration and direct settlement of hospitalization for cross-provincial medical treatment. Actions to make internet applications more suitable for the elderly and barrier-free have been carried out in depth. Network poverty alleviation and digital village construction are being continued, and urban and rural residents are sharing the fruits of digital development.

Seventh, remarkable achievements have been made in the governance of digital development. The legal and regulatory system is accelerating its improvement and perfection, with the promulgation and implementation of laws and regulations such as the "E-commerce Law", "Cybersecurity Law", "Data Security Law", "Personal Information Protection Law", and "Regulations on the Security Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure". Regulations such as the "Regulations on the Governance of Network Information Content Ecology", "Regulations on the Management of Blockchain Information Services", and "Regulations on the Management of Algorithm Recommendations for Internet Information Services" have been formulated and issued. Promoting the standardized and healthy development of the platform economy, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of market entities and the people. The "Clear and Bright" series of special campaigns have been implemented in depth, creating a good online environment.

Eighth, international cooperation in the digital field is steadily expanding. China has initiated and launched international cooperation initiatives such as the "Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace" and the "Belt and Road" Initiative for International Cooperation on the Digital Economy. Actively participating in multilateral and multi-party digital economy governance mechanisms, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the formulation of international rules and technical standards for cyberspace. Applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). The construction of the "Digital Silk Road" has achieved remarkable results, with cooperation memorandums of understanding signed with 17 countries and bilateral cooperation mechanisms established with 23 countries for "Silk Road E-commerce", and the competitiveness of digital trade continues to strengthen.

Cao Shumin said, 2022 is an important year for entering the new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modern country and striving towards the second centenary goal. Strengthening the overall layout of the construction of digital China, continuing to promote the construction of digital China from aspects such as digital technology innovation, digital infrastructure, digital economy, digital government, digital culture, digital society, digital ecological civilization, data resources, digital security and governance, and digital international cooperation, and welcoming the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China with practical actions.

| Source: CNR

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