Leaders of Chinese IT giants call for accelerated digital transformation of real economy

Photo taken on March 4, 2019 shows a staff worker from Dingnan county’s smart medical comprehensive service center in east China’s Jiangxi province instructs citizens to conduct medical treatment through its internet remote consultation

Many of the leaders of China’s tech giants have offered policy suggestions during the ongoing “two sessions” in Beijing. The proposals are mainly about how to support the development of the real economy through the internet. These lawmakers and political advisors gathered in Beijing for the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), opening on March 5 and March 3, respectively. Internet companies are digital assistants helping traditional enterprises develop rather than their competitors, said Pony Ma, Tencent’s chairman and CEO, and an NPC deputy. He stated that the development of “industrial internet”, integration of industry and the internet will provide historical opportunities and technical conditions for high-quality development of the real economy.

Great efforts should be made to advance the construction of information infrastructure in the development of industrial internet, including accelerating comprehensive commercial deployment of 5G and IPv6, he said, adding that China should also promote innovative development of cloud computing, encourage rapid development of cloud platforms such as industrial cloud and financial cloud, in a bid to accelerate digital transformation of the real economy. Robin Li, Baidu founder and a CPPCC member held that artificial intelligence (AI) will further promote the development of road transportation and medical industry, suggesting the country establish a data sharing and usage mechanism, and encourage local authorities to explore and establish intelligent transportation solutions. The standards for filling out electronic medical records should be improved, he suggested, adding that medical institutions should be encouraged to strengthen cooperation with research institutes and enterprises, and the technical standards and the legal guarantee for data applications should be strengthened.

Ding Lei, director and CEO of NetEase, as well as a CPPCC member, pointed out that further implementation of internet plus advanced manufacturing will promote high-quality economic growth, at a time when China continues optimizing and upgrading its economic structure. He suggested that the development of the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) should be deepened to promote advanced manufacturing, noting that AI and big data should be fully used so as to better understand user needs, optimize production and advance intelligent, high-end and market-oriented development of China’s manufacturing industry. Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo Group, as well as a deputy to the NPC, called for more efforts to integrate artificial intelligence with the internet, to create more “efficiency dividends” and to promote high-end manufacturing in China. He suggested greater policy support for the smart IoT industry to refine the standards for policy implementation. Yang also called for more benchmarking cases of smart IoT to promote feasible experience.

Xiaomi Group’s founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun, who is a deputy to the NPC, believes that IoT enjoys broad application prospects, which will bring new development opportunities for manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, security and other sectors. Industrial IoT applications should be accelerated to help intelligent transformation of factories. He also called for the development of smart agriculture to boost the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, and wider application of medical IoT to help build a healthy China. China will work to transform and upgrade traditional industries, as stated in this year’s government work report.

To promote the development of high-quality manufacturing, the country will strengthen the foundations of industry and the capacity for technological innovation, boost the integrated development of advanced manufacturing and modernized services, and work faster to make China strong in manufacturing, the report stated. The country will create industrial internet platforms and expand Intelligent Plus initiatives to facilitate transformation and upgrading in manufacturing, according to the report. The NPC Standing Committee has included in its five-year legislative plan a number of laws related to AI, such as the digital security law, the personal information protection law and the revision to the law on scientific and technological progress.

By Li Xinyi

(People’s Daily)