Xiamen seeks to become development center for digital economy

The coastal city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province is making efforts to bring about digital transformation and promote the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries as it seeks to become a center for the development of digital economy, local media reported on Oct 13.

Thirteen supportive measures were rolled out last year in order to support the construction of new types of infrastructure, accelerate the development of new technologies and new business forms, and promote the integrated development of digital economy and real economy.

Authorities said that more efforts will be made to help local companies bring about digital transformation.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies launched two intelligent projects in Xiamen and has helped more than 400 local firms achieve digitalization. It joined hands with several industry leaders to build a strong industrial ecology for information technology in the city, with the aim of accelerating the upgrading of Xiamen's software and manufacturing industries.

The city will also promote the application of 5G technologies. Xiamen officially allowed the commercial use of 5G last year and plans to build 19,000 5G base stations, aiming to achieve full 5G coverage in key application scenarios in the urban area. Local authorities said that a total of 5,000 5G base stations will be built in the city by the end of this year.

The electronic information industry, including the integrated circuit (IC) industry, will also be boosted in Xiamen in order to support the development of digital economy.

In recent years, Xiamen has emphasized innovation in core IC design technology, as IC design was listed as one of the 10 future industries in Xiamen. The output value of the IC industry is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan ($14.88 billion) by 2025.