CCTV:

Building the digital Silk Road is an important area of cooperation in the joint construction of the BRI. What achievements have been made in this area? How will we expand digital cooperation in the future? Thank you.

Cong Liang:

In recent years, we have implemented President Xi Jinping's important initiative to build the digital Silk Road and actively promoted cooperation regarding digital economy and other related areas to achieve new progress and achievements. On one hand, policy exchanges have been continuously deepened. Initiatives such as the Initiative on Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace and the Belt and Road Digital Economy International Cooperation Initiative have been launched, fostering sustained cooperation with countries involved in the BRI in areas such as digital infrastructure construction, digital technology innovation and digital transformation of industries. Memorandums of understanding to strengthen cooperation in the construction of the digital Silk Road (digital economy) have been signed with 20 countries, providing an avenue for aligning development strategies, enhancing policy coordination and promoting practical cooperation among enterprises.

On the other hand, pragmatic cooperation is steadily advancing. Cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the construction of smart cities is deepening. The construction of smart cities between Shenzhen and Singapore is continuously expanding. The online Silk Road cooperation between China and Arab countries is steadily progressing in Ningxia. At the same time, cooperation in digital infrastructure construction is continuously improving connectivity efficiency, enabling a variety of high-quality goods, technologies and products to go global. Cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine driving the growth of goods trade. In 2022, China's cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 2.11 trillion yuan. Chinese enterprises have provided greater convenience for people across the globe through cloud platforms and other services as well as projects such as those offering satellite TV services in remote African villages. 

Moving forward, we will continuously strengthen exchanges with other BRI countries in the field of digital economy and expand pragmatic cooperation, with the aim to share development dividends with people in different countries. To achieve this goal, we will deepen efforts in three aspects: First, deepening international consensus on digital economy. We will rely on bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of digital economy. Actively participating in negotiations on digital economy issues within multilateral mechanisms and international organizations, we will promote accession to the DEPA. Within frameworks such as the World Trade Organization and the RCEP, we will drive the establishment of rules for digital economy governance and foster broad consensus on development. Second, deepening international cooperation in the digital industry. Building on the existing mechanisms of the digital Silk Road construction and cooperation, we will strengthen collaboration with other countries participating in the BRI in areas such as network infrastructure and digital industries. We will continuously expand the breadth and depth of international cooperation in the digital industry. Third, deepening efforts to make sure the benefits of digital economy are shared by all. We will pragmatically promote exchanges and cooperation in the digital economy, encouraging high-quality collaboration between Chinese and foreign enterprises in areas such as e-commerce, mobile payments, smart cities, telemedicine, digital education and digital transformation of industries. We will leverage digital technologies to drive high-quality economic development, improve people's livelihoods and enable people in BRI countries to better share in the dividends of digital economy development. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you to all the speakers and friends from the media. Today's press conference is hereby concluded. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Wang Qian, Xu Xiaoxuan, Li Huiru, Zhang Rui, Yuan Fang, Yang Xi, Yan Bin, Liu Caiyi, Cui Can, Xu Kailin, Gong Yingchun, Zhang Junmian, Zhang Tingting, Liu Sitong, Wang Ziteng, Mi Xingang, Li Xiao, David Ball, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.