Catalyst for post-pandemic recovery

Digital economy can provide fresh impetus for global growth

Strengthening cooperation on the digital economy and transforming China's digital experience in accordance with local conditions is essential to boost economic recovery and social growth across the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that the digital growth has dramatically altered Chinese people's lifestyles and improved livelihoods nationwide. China's accomplishment in poverty alleviation is a classic example of the indispensable role the digital economy can play in driving and innovating for growth.

Take agriculture for example. In the past, hundreds of millions of farmers in China faced difficulties linking local products with markets. However, e-commerce has done wonders in giving agricultural products access to bigger markets.

Rural e-commerce is now booming in China, showing that the dividends from the digital economy are not limited to developed countries or metropolises. As long as the conditions are right, the digital economy can play a bigger role in promoting economic growth in developing countries or rural areas.

However, digital technology alone is not the sole contributor to rural e-commerce's success in China. The huge demand of the domestic market, increasingly upgraded transportation and digital infrastructure, sound business environment, improvement in people's livelihoods, favorable e-commerce policies and positive actions by all the parties concerned have all played a role. In other words, the building of an all-round digital society cannot be accomplished overnight. To promote the localization of digital experience, we need to carry out plans step by step.

It is safe to say that the time is now ripe to promote global digital cooperation. The development of telecommunications infrastructure will boost the popularization of the internet in a cheaper, faster and more convenient manner. Last year, the global smartphone penetration rate exceeded 80 percent, and the internet usage rate reached 86.8 percent in developed countries and 47 percent in developing ones, laying a solid foundation for global digital cooperation.

As for developing countries' willingness, most countries have begun to carry out plans to develop the digital economy. Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, have clearly listed digitization as the priority for growth, actively promoted the building of digital infrastructure, improved the regulatory legal framework, encouraged cashless payment systems and upgraded logistics and distribution.

Many African countries, such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, enjoy huge room for cooperation in improving communication facilities, e-commerce, and digital capacity building.

The international community has successively introduced digital development cooperation plans. For instance, the World Bank has launched an e-agriculture project in Côte d'Ivoire with a view to promoting affordable broadband access to more than 1 million rural households. Crop production and price information can be disseminated in real time to boost smallholders' productivity. Also, the employment issue of women in poor areas can be resolved by offering them the chance to learn digital skills.

In recent years, China has injected impetus into international digital cooperation among developing countries in a variety of ways, including assisting the building of digital infrastructure, building digital trading platforms, conducting digital scientific research cooperation and promoting distance education.

China has assisted Asian and African countries in building digital infrastructure in the past, providing new momentum for their economic and social development. China's aid to Tanzania's national broadband backbone network project reduced the country's telephone tariffs by 58 percent and internet tariffs by 75 percent. It is satisfying to witness remote rural areas enjoying the convenience of modern communications.

In the field of innovating digital trade environment, China helps small and medium-sized enterprises and disadvantaged groups to build cross-border e-commerce platforms, and offers favorable conditions and training in customs clearance, warehousing, logistics, and technological usage.

China has also laid the foundation for participating in digital international cooperation. But, what can be done to improve it?

First, China should identify demonstration projects in accordance with the recipient countries' national policies, by focusing on livelihood-related projects that have great potential and economic power. Medical care, education and agriculture are all in need of digital transformation and management.

Second, China should actively encourage pioneering companies to go overseas, and give full play to the technical and management advantages of the private sector, especially supporting leading digital companies to play the key role in restoring social life and helping restart work in the post-pandemic era.

Third, relying on China-assisted vocational and technical schools, human resource development cooperation projects, scholarship projects and digital enterprise training platforms, China can actively help developing countries understand and accept the new concepts and methods in digital management and operation.

Fourth, China should strengthen dialogue and cooperation with multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations, G20, BRICS as well as related digital scientific research institutions, so as to promote China's digital technology, standards and services, reach a consensus on digital development, and join hands to contribute to the post-pandemic recovery.

To sum up, digital growth cooperation offers developing countries a proven way to promote their economic and social development.

The author is vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.