Jin Siyuan and Chen Yanqing: Vigorously Stimulate the Innovative Vitality of the Digital Economy
The digital economy represents the future direction of global development and is becoming a key force in restructuring global factor resources, reshaping the global economic structure, and changing the landscape of international competition. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "In the present era, digital technology—as the pioneering force of the world’s scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation—is increasingly integrating into the entire process and every field of economic and social development, profoundly changing modes of production, lifestyles, and social governance," emphasizing the need to "stimulate the vitality of the digital economy." The Proposals of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development [1] emphasize "promoting the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy." At present, the speed, breadth, and depth of digital economic development are unprecedented. We must seize this opportunity and vigorously stimulate the innovative vitality of the digital economy to give full play to its important role in empowering the real economy and promoting high-quality development.
1. Strengthen research on key core technologies to secure autonomy in digital economic development
Key core technologies serve as the foundational support for the digital economy; their level of autonomy determines a nation's resilience in digital development and its initiative in competition. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "We must fight the battle for key core technologies, achieve high-level self-reliance and strength as soon as possible, and keep the autonomy of digital economic development firmly in our own hands." First, we must give full play to the unique advantages of the new-type whole-nation system [2]. Key core technologies are characterized by high investment, long cycles, complexity, strategic importance, and monopolistic tendencies. The advantage of the new-type whole-nation system lies in achieving an organic coupling between a promising government and an effective market, providing a solid guarantee for winning the battle for key core technologies. We must utilize the powerful mobilization capacity of this system, strengthen strategic scientific and technological forces, accelerate the organization and implementation of major science and technology projects with forward-looking layouts, and enhance the strategic, prospective, and systematic deployment of basic research. We must pool our strengths to promote original, leading, and disruptive digital technological innovations. Second, we must accelerate the transformation and application of major scientific and technological achievements. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Scientific and technological achievements can only truly realize their innovative value and drive development when they are combined with national needs, people's requirements, and market demand, completing the 'triple jump' from scientific research to experimental development and then to promotional application." Efficient transformation provides a vital feedback effect for research on key core technologies. It can quickly expose and accelerate the resolution of practical bottlenecks—such as engineering feasibility and reliability—encountered in the process of turning technologies into products, feeding market and application demands back to the R&D stage and enhancing the sustainability of research efforts. Therefore, we should accelerate the transformation of major achievements, speed up the layout of concept verification and pilot scale-up platforms [3], and form a service network covering the entire chain of transformation, including experimental verification and market matching. Third, we must give play to the leading role of tech giants. Leading technology enterprises are not only technology providers but also organizers of innovation networks and platforms for resource integration. We should institutionally guarantee their deep participation in national science and technology innovation decision-making and their undertaking of major projects. We should support them in leading the formation of innovation consortia [4] to promote the optimal configuration and dynamic aggregation of factors such as knowledge, talent, and capital, thereby stimulating the technological innovation vitality of the entire society.
2. Release the value of data factors to cultivate drivers for digital economic growth
Data is the fifth major factor of production following land, labor, capital, and technology; it is also the core factor of production in the digital economy. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "build a digital economy with data as a key factor." The full release of the value of massive data will have a multiplying, superimposed, and magnifying effect on the efficiency of other factors, directly impacting the innovative vitality of the digital economy. We must strengthen the supply of data factors. This involves establishing and improving the national public data resource system, promoting the construction of high-quality datasets, and encouraging public data entities to cooperate with professional "data merchants" to develop data resources. While ensuring data security and user privacy, we must mobilize enterprises, industry associations, and scientific research institutions to focus on key industries to develop standardized and usable high-value data resources. Simultaneously, we should strengthen the cultivation of data-centric enterprises and encourage market forces to mine specialized and personalized commercial data. We must promote the circulation of data factors. Data infrastructure can provide powerful computing power support for data circulation and transactions; we should coordinate the layout of high-performance computing infrastructure and build integrated computing resource sharing platforms. An open, shared, and secure national integrated data market constitutes the core hub for the market-oriented circulation of data. We must give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation while better exerting the role of the government. Market mechanisms should serve as the core driver for the circulation, pricing, and distribution of data factors. We must accelerate the construction of a national market transaction system that is tiered and graded, combining on-exchange and off-exchange trading, while innovating and enriching service models for circulation and transactions. We must precisely crack down on black-market data trading and promote the orderly development of the data factor circulation service industry. We must deepen the utilization of data factors. By leveraging the multiplier effect of data factors, we should promote the application of data in industries such as industrial manufacturing, transportation, financial services, and green low-carbon development, allowing data to deeply empower the real economy. We should systematically strengthen the construction of "trusted data spaces," promote the integration and sharing of data resources, and transform the value of data factors into a driver for high-quality development.
3. Fully implement the "AI Plus" initiative to enrich digital economy application scenarios
Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is restructuring industrial ecosystems and expanding the growth space of the digital economy, with its application pushing manufacturing beyond traditional automation toward a new stage of intelligence. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Artificial intelligence is a strategic technology leading this round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, possessing a strong 'bellwether' effect [5] with significant spillover and driving potential." We must fully implement the "AI Plus" initiative to promote the deep empowerment of thousands of industries by AI, vigorously advancing the processes of industrial digitalization and digital industrialization. On one hand, we must release the deep activation effect of AI on traditional industries. By deeply integrating AI technology with China's powerful manufacturing base and market advantages, we should widely utilize digital-intelligence technology to promote the transformation of traditional industries and the upgrading of equipment. We must bridge data and intelligence, break industrial boundaries, and give birth to new business forms and industrial clusters, channeling innovative vitality into a broader industrial hinterland to promote the deep integration of the digital and real economies. On the other hand, we must vigorously expand AI application scenarios. To stimulate innovation, the value of AI must be verified and sublimated through interaction with application scenarios. China is the only country in the world that possesses all industrial categories listed in the UN industrial classification, providing a complete and diverse application ecosystem that serves as the best testing ground for AI technology iteration. China has already released over 1,500 industry-specific models covering 50 key industrial fields and over 700 scenarios. Therefore, we should seize the "commanding heights" of industrial AI applications, further support the extensive use of large AI models in vertical fields, and promote the deep embedding of AI throughout the entire process of R&D design, production control, and supply chain management. We should build benchmark scenarios such as smart diagnosis, smart shopping guides, and intelligent container transport, and encourage leading enterprises to create smart factories and smart supply chains to drive the overall digital transformation of the upstream and downstream industrial chains.
4. Expand high-level opening up to broaden the development space for the digital economy
Opening up is a defining feature of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "China's determination to expand high-level opening up will not change, and the door to China's opening will only open wider." Expanding high-level opening up and comprehensively broadening the space for digital economic development holds fundamental, holistic, and strategic value for stimulating innovation. First, we must vigorously advance opening up in the digital field. We should strengthen policy innovation and cross-departmental, cross-field, and cross-industry coordination to promote the orderly opening of key sectors. This will attract global high-quality capital, advanced technology, and high-end talent while breaking down various implicit barriers to create a stable, fair, transparent, and predictable environment. We should make full use of high-level global digital cooperation platforms—such as the Wuzhen Summit of the World Internet Conference, the Global Digital Economy Conference, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, and the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS)—to build bridges for the digital economy to both "bring in" and "go out." In particular, we must build the "Digital Silk Road" [6] with high quality and promote the formation of a global digital innovation cooperation network. Second, we must promote digital trade. Digital trade is one of the three pillars of building a strong trade nation; its intensive, flat, and inclusive attributes help reduce transaction costs and release innovative potential. On the basis of open access, we should vigorously develop cross-border e-commerce and promote new business forms in digital trade, transforming China's ultra-large market and rich application scenarios into a massive market for digital trade. Simultaneously, we should build digital trade demonstration zones and service export bases to high standards, guiding foreign investment toward high-tech industries and supporting cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises to explore international markets. Third, we must actively participate in the formulation of digital rules. International digital standards are the "common language" of global economic and trade cooperation. We should actively participate in setting international standards in key areas such as AI, data circulation, and cyber security, and promote global dialogue and intergovernmental negotiations on AI governance. We should transform the advanced technical solutions formed during China's digital economic development into international standards, reducing market compliance costs and helping Chinese enterprises "go overseas." Simultaneously, we should deeply participate in negotiations on international digital rules, align with high-standard international rules, and contribute "Chinese wisdom" to negotiations for digital economy agreements such as the DEPA [7].
5. Improve the digital economy governance system to optimize the development environment
A sound governance system provides a predictable environment for the digital economy. Improving this system requires constructing adaptive governance mechanisms that promote the continuous gathering and iteration of innovation factors, achieving a dynamic balance between regulation and vitality. First, we must build a governance pattern involving multiple subjects. The complexity of the digital economy dictates that governance cannot rely on the government alone; we must build a collaborative and resilient approach to enhance inclusiveness and adaptability. For instance, we should better serve the digital economy through innovative financial service models and precise fiscal and tax support policies. Platform enterprises must clarify their primary responsibilities and obligations, improving internal compliance and self-governance mechanisms. Industry associations should strengthen the formulation of frontier standards, playing a leading and bridging role to guide platform enterprises in self-discipline. The public and media should participate through feedback and supervision. Second, we must promote the digital transformation of the governance system itself. Digital technologies such as big data, AI, and blockchain should be deeply embedded in the entire process of regulation and service. We should improve digital linked-supervision systems to achieve regulation and governance that covers the entire process, chain, and field, allowing for the timely discovery of problems. Third, we must coordinate digital economic development with security. The booming digital economy faces significant security challenges. We must improve data security protection capabilities across all industries, strengthen early warning and prevention mechanisms for security risks, and focus on prospective risk assessment in emerging fields like AI. We must ensure that core technologies, important industries, key facilities, strategic resources, major science and technology, and leading enterprises remain "secure and controllable." By establishing a trusted and controllable security environment, we can fundamentally enhance trust among market participants, ensuring that data "dares to circulate," enterprises "dare to innovate," and users "dare to use," thereby providing a security guarantee for the continuous burst of innovative vitality in the digital economy.