Bauhinia Magazine:

The Digital China Summit has been held in Fuzhou for three years. How effective has Fuzhou been in developing the digital economy in recent years, and what are the plans and considerations for further promoting Fuzhou's digital economy in the future? Thank you.

You Mengjun:

Thank you for your question and your concern about Fuzhou. As early as 2000, General Secretary Xi Jinping, then-governor of Fujian province, put forward the strategic concept of building a Digital Fujian. During the past few years, following the instructions of General Secretary Xi and the deployments of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and the Fujian provincial government, Fuzhou has concentrated on developing its digital economy and has grasped the Digital China Summit as an opportunity. Thanks to all these efforts, the volume of the city's digital economy increased to 460 billion yuan in 2020 from 280 billion yuan in 2018 with the average annual growth rate surpassing 25%. The proportion of the digital economy in local GDP has been raised to over 45% from 36%. At present, there are 37 listed enterprises in the digital economy located in Fuzhou. We have focused on the following five areas:

First, we have carried out two special programs. One is a three-year initiative on building "Digital Fuzhou," which consists of 137 key projects in the areas of e-government service and data resources. The other one is a three-year action plan for new infrastructure, which includes 175 key projects of information infrastructure with the total investment valuing more than 230 billion yuan.

Second, we have established five industrial bases, focusing on big data, the Internet of Things, software, displays and photoelectricity. Many excellent enterprises in the digital economy such as BOE, Inspur, NetDragon, Bitmain and Guomai Tech have settled in the city, earning Fuzhou the title of "China's famous software city."

Third, we have accelerated the empowerment of digital technology. In traditional industry, more than 2000 companies have taken part in cloud-based platforms. We have fostered eight province-level industrial internet demonstration platforms including Morewis Cloud and Histron Cloud, 24 application benchmarking companies, and 188 provincial-level "Internet Plus" manufacturing projects. In the emerging industrial field, we have 360 AI-related companies and 523 blockchain-related companies. The Kunpeng Industrial Ecosystem is being applied first in Fuzhou.

Fourth, we have set up public service platforms for the digital economy. Basic supporting platforms including China-Fuzhou Internet of Things Open Lab, National Internet backbone access points and two major projects for the Digital Fujian Cloud Computing Center have been established. Sci-tech innovation platforms focusing on large-scale supercomputers, AI and optoelectronic information science and technology have been built. Industry-university-research cooperation platforms including the Tsinghua-Fuzhou Institute of Data Technology and the Southeast Research Institute of Express Big Data of the State Post Bureau have been introduced in Fuzhou.

The fifth thing is to build Fuzhou into a number one digital application city. In the aspect of e-government applications, we provide immediate and one-stop services based on the "Internet Plus Government Services" model to ensure that people can get things done through apps or through single visits to any related department within the city. At present, Fuzhou ranks 28th among Chinese cities for its business convenience, and stands at 4th place in the ranking of digital government development among provincial capital cities in China. In terms of urban management, we have built an intelligent drainage-water system and coordination center around the "city brain" and launched the country's first city-level public service platform for facial recognition. Fuzhou has been awarded the "China's Leading Smart City Award" for five consecutive years. In the aspect of services related to people's livelihoods, we have created "e-Fuzhou" public service model which provides transportation, educational, medical, community and other services. We are gradually enabling our citizens to experience new services and new lifestyles with the application of information technology.

After years of accumulation, Fuzhou's digital economy has already gained a solid foundation. Next, we will continue to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's strategic thought on building a digital China in earnest with special gratitude and responsibility. In the future, "Digital Fuzhou" will remain our main direction of economic development. Becoming the number one city for digital applications will continue to be our working strategy, and building Fuzhou into a digital demonstration city in China will always be our goal. We will enhance our efforts in the following three areas. First, we will concentrate on cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, AI and blockchain, and promote digital industrialization and industry digitalization in traditional industries such as textiles, chemical fibers, machinery manufacturing, metallurgical and building materials. Second, we will accelerate construction of information infrastructure, including supercomputing, storage and digital centers. Third, we will provide more and better applications for digital education, digital culture and tourism, and digital health care.

In short, we will continue to expand the platform effect of the Digital China Summit, make all-out efforts to develop the digital economy, and promote all-round and high-quality development in Fuzhou. Thank you.