Digital economy becomes major GDP driver

China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan ($6.9 trillion) in 2022, accounting for 41.5 percent of the country's GDP, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday in Dalian, Liaoning province.

"Revenue from the software industry reached 10.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percent," said Wang Dongtang, head of the ministry's service trade department, during the opening ceremony of the China International Digital and Software Services Fair 2023.

"At the same time, China's digital service trade volume reached 2.51 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.8 percent," he said, adding that digital platforms are an important force in promoting innovation and the high-quality development of foreign trade in China.

Themed "Integrated development, empowered by digital innovation", this year's fair has attracted hundreds of enterprises from home and abroad, including Huawei and Tesla, to showcase new products, technologies and services in the digital sector.

The four-day fair is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the People's Government of Liaoning province. It includes one main forum, one key themed forum and more than 40 parallel forums.