A new report by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies has highlighted some developments in China’s digitalisation. The report was released at the World Internet Conference’s Internet Development Forum which took place in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province between November 23 and 24. We have summarised some of the key findings below:
- China’s digital economy hit 35 trillion RMB in 2019 which accounts for 36.2% of the country’s total GDP
- By the end of May 2020, China’s optical fibre network covered all urban and rural areas.
- In 2019, there were 5.44 million 4G stations in China
- As of September 2020, 480,000 5G stations had been constructed.
China’s digital economy is expanding rapidly with the digitalisation of services, as well as the development of new technologies. An increase in demand for e-commerce caused the industry to grow by 24% between 2017 and 2019 according to Nielsen. In September, audio platform Himalaya announced that it was backing China’s first university focused on the online economy.
China is investing huge amounts into the R&D of new technologies, such as the IoT, 5G and blockchain. Beijing and Shenzhen have become the first cities in the world to achieve full-scale 5G coverage. China’s digital currency, the CBDC, is also expanding with trials taking place in Suzhou and Shenzhen.
