Digital economy is major force in development of China's economy

The digital economy has become a major driving force for high-quality development of the Chinese economy, according to a blue book released on Tuesday.

The Blue Book of New Media, an annual report on the development of new media in China, is edited and compiled by the Institute of Journalism and Communication under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The 2019 book presents a comprehensive overview of China's new media development in 2018 and analyzes its impact on society, as well as challenges to be addressed.

It says that digital economy is driving the overall economy to a high quality level and becoming more integrated with the brick-and-mortar economy. With big data, artificial intelligence and 5G communication network emerging for more commercial use, the internet has entered a "stage of intelligence".

Mobile internet coverage in the country continues to increase but rather slowly; however, the short video industry is showing a vibrant momentum. Various short video platforms had a total of 648 million users by December 2018 and Vlog, short for video log, is gaining increasing popularity on these platforms, the book says.

Information consumption — consumers taking in information as products or services, digitalized retail, and consumption triggered by key opinion leaders, also are playing a bigger role in the entire business, according to the book.

Tang Xujun, the book's chief editor who also is the director of the journalism and communication institute, said that with today's rapid technological advancement, new media has a broader meaning and can refer to all mass communication using digital technologies.

The book helps give a full picture of the current situation of Chinese new media and analyzes the future trend. It also looks into problems awaiting better solutions in areas of data governance, cybersecurity, new media copyright management and regulated artificial intelligence, Tang said.