China to bolster digital economy amid coronavirus fight

China is boosting its digital economy amid the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, said Jin Jianmin, a senior fellow at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo.

The Chinese government and information technology companies have worked closely to combat COVID-19 and transform digital technologies at a faster pace, said Jin in a written interview with Xinhua.

In 2019, the digital economy had begun to play a role as a new driving force in China's economic development, the expert said.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has brought challenges to China's macro-governance and economic development, impacting industries and markets in the short term, he noted.

"In the fight against the virus, digital technology is beginning to play an unprecedented role in the rapid and accurate dissemination of information, the maintenance of daily life and economic and social activities, the development of healthcare, as well as the recovery of industries and economic activities," Jin said.

"Digital technology developed during this extraordinary period is an opportunity to enhance the country's digital economy," he said.

Firstly, the more frequent use of the internet during the outbreak will greatly increase internet penetration in China, Jin said.

Noting that China's internet penetration rate is about 60 percent, he said the outbreak has allowed Chinese networks to penetrate rapidly into rural and remote areas, as well as reach the elderly population.

"If China's internet penetration reached or approached the developed world's average of 85 percent, it would generate 200 million to 300 million new internet users," Jin said.

In that case, according to Jin, not only can China bridge the digital divide, but the new internet users will also become new digital consumers. Therefore, encouraging and fostering information consumption should be of priority.

Secondly, during the outbreak, many companies adopted telecommuting systems and digital management models, with enterprises applying cloud and other digital technologies to change their business management patterns, Jin said.

Digital technology companies, such as Alibaba and Tencent, are also accelerating the development of APPs to meet users' digital needs and help companies improve their ability to create more value through digitalization, he noted.

Jin said the "health code" system, which began in China's East coast city of Hangzhou, was launched by the local government and IT companies to help restore industrial production and resume day-to-day life.

The expert said he expects macro- and industrial policies to be combined with the digital experience and data collected from the public to bolster digital innovation.