Global dialogue, exchanges needed to tackle challenges arising from digitalization, president says
A visitor experiences a driverless vehicle system at the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. (WANG JING / CHINA DAILY)
President Xi Jinping called on Nov 9 for increased international communication and cooperation in dealing with the opportunities and challenges arising from digital technologies, in order to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.
Xi made the remark in a congratulatory letter sent to the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Nov 9 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.
Xi said in the letter that in the world today, digital technology, as the leading force of the global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, is increasingly integrated into the whole process of socioeconomic development in various sectors, profoundly changing modes of production, lifestyles and approaches toward social governance.
Facing the opportunities and challenges resulting from digitalization, Xi said the international community should strengthen dialogue and exchanges, deepen pragmatic cooperation and join hands to build a much fairer and more equitable cyberspace that is open, inclusive, secure, stable and dynamic.
China stands ready to work with other countries to jointly explore a global digital development path, step up the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace and contribute wisdom and strength to world peace and development as well as the progress of human civilization.
The global digital development path features the joint building and sharing of digital resources, a vibrant digital economy, precise and efficient digital governance, a flourishing digital culture, effectively guaranteed digital security and mutually beneficial digital cooperation for win-win results, according to Xi.
Since 2014, the World Internet Conference has been held annually in Wuzhen. Xi put forward the initiative of jointly building a community with a shared future in cyberspace when addressing the second World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in 2015. This year’s theme is “Towards a Shared Digital Future in a Connected World — Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace”.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said Xi’s remarks elaborated on the opportunities and challenges brought by digitalization, and demonstrated China’s sincere willingness to join hands with other countries in building cyberspace and exploring a promising global digital development path.
Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the World Internet Conference, said the WIC Wuzhen Summit has become a key platform for businesses, especially small and medium-sized firms, to seize development opportunities in the digital age.
Li Junhua, under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs of the United Nations, said, “The United Nations attaches the priority to the digital technologies and the internet in building a prosperous, inclusive and shared future with no one left behind.”
Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union Zhao Houlin said: “Using digital technology to promote social and economic development, bridge the development gap and achieve sustainable economic and social development in the post-COVID era is crucial. To meet these goals, however, requires considerable effort from the international community.”
Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, noted China’s progress in recent decade. WIPO Global Innovation Index ranked China 34th a decade ago and 11th this year. The GII found that, for the first time, China has as many of the world’s top 100 science and technology clusters as the United States.
Tang said China is strategically placed to significantly contribute to the next major waves in innovation.
With the blossoming of 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and other innovative digital technologies, the digital economy is gradually becoming the integral driving force for economic growth. According to a white paper released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the scale of China’s digital economy reached 45.5 trillion yuan ($6.3 trillion) in 2021, accounting for 39.8 percent of the country’s GDP.
Daniel Filmus, Argentina’s minister of science, technology and innovation, stressed in his address via video link that the world should develop wider and more deepened global digital cooperation, underlining that governments must shoulder the responsibility of managing new technologies and solving new problems.
Shang Bing, president of the Internet Society of China, said the world must strengthen cooperation in digital technologies, with more focus on promoting internet applications in building barrier-free facilities, in a bid to help the elderly and disabled benefit from a digital life.
John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd, an international association of mobile operators, highlighted the significance of closing the digital gap to ensure that everyone has the chance to benefit from the transformational power of access to the internet.
Noting the dynamism and competitiveness of China’s digital economy, Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM Corp, said, “Despite the uncertainties of today’s world, we are confident that innovation, trust and collaboration will ensure that we can move through current challenges to a more stable and prosperous future in China and around the world.”
Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco Systems, said China will continue to create significant and exciting opportunities, and emphasized that his company will continue to make investments in China’s digital economy and sustainability efforts.
Chen Rui, chairman and CEO of Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili, said digital cooperation could also be developed in the cultural industry.
Contact the writers at caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn
