China showcases cutting-edge technologies at “Light of Internet” Expo
November 24, 2020 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
China showcased cutting-edge technologies ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to big data and blockchain at the “Light of Internet” Expo and organized the 2020 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. New technologies and digital products from more than 100 companies and innovative teams were displayed. Some of the exhibitors created an “immersive experience” of their technologies, such as a virtual self-driving test and training platform to let visitors experience the safety of self-driving cars. Visitors could also learn about how AI is used in hospitals by seeing exhibits like an interactive medical three-dimensional model. Because of the pandemic, some of the activities were held online during the two-day conference, which set strict quarantine rules for participants. Journalists, for their part, had to show negative test results within seven days before they could check in.
The Organizing Committee of the 2020 World Internet Conference published a proposal to set up a “community of shared future in cyberspace.” Countries should cooperate in the building of network infrastructure facilities such as international submarine cables. It also urged governments to guarantee an open, stable, and safe environment for the global information and communication industry. Experts noted that the removal of barriers in the global digital industry is necessary to spur a post-pandemic economic recovery, as traditional economic sectors from trade to manufacturing will have to rely on digital means in the foreseeable future.
“Talking about setting a shared cyberspace future was more like a vision in the past, but now it has become an urgent task as countries could no longer resort to many traditional industries for growth. If digital connection and cooperation are cut off, it would hurt global digital industries and in turn, the world’s post-pandemic economic recovery,” said Li Yi, Senior Research Fellow at the Internet Research Center of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Zhang Yi, CEO of Guangzhou-based iMedia Research, said that China has set an example using the digital economy to turn the general economy around. “China’s economy turned from negative to positive largely with help of the digital economy, why can’t it be copied in other parts of the world?” For that to happen, the world should jointly build rules in digital governance, while removing man-made barriers which still exist – like the U.S. crackdown on Chinese technology companies, Zhang said. The added value of China’s digital economy amounted to CNY35.8 trillion in 2019, about 36.2% of the country’s total GDP, the Global Times reports.
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