China Unveils Plan to Promote Digital Development

Digital Markets
China Unveils Plan to Promote Digital Development
Photo: unsplash.com 01.03.2023 1716

The plan is said to be a "solid support for the development of new advantages in the country's competitiveness," China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council unveiled a plan that aims to accelerate the country's digitalization and development in areas such as 5G, IoT, data centers and supercomputers.

According to the document, China should be "at the global forefront in terms of digital development" by 2035, Xinhua reported.

The plan includes support for the in-depth integration of digital technology and the real economy and the application of digital technology in the agriculture, manufacturing, finance, education, medical services, transportation and energy sectors.

Maria Belyaeva, an expert at the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, notes:

"China has set a course for technological sovereignty (especially in the context of ever-tightening U.S. sanctions). The role of Internet and technology companies in the process of its achievement has already been defined - they will be its active participants and driving force, they will contribute to the development of cloud technologies, telecommunications networks, AI and so on.”

Businesses will be encouraged to play a leading role in technological innovation, according to the plan.

"At the same time, there is no talk about weakening regulation of the digital environment — on the contrary, the course is declared on its "normalization", that is, regulatory measures are not an exceptional case, but the usual norm,"

says the expert.

However, since the platform economy was previously (until the end of 2020) overlooked by the regulator, a lot of offenses were revealed in the course of active enforcement and lawmaking. 

According to Maria Belyaeva, now companies are more clearly aware of the new framework and red lines and understand their compliance obligations, so there will be fewer fines, although no one has loosened the requirements.

digital markets  China 

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