Ivan Sharafafanov: The Value of the Digital Silk Road for Win-Win Cooperation
At present, as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation develops in depth, and the processes of digitalization, networking, and intelligence continue to accelerate, the construction of the Digital Silk Road [1] is of great significance.
In May 2017, President Xi Jinping first proposed the concept of the "Digital Silk Road" during the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. He emphasized the need to persist in innovation-driven development, strengthen cooperation in frontier fields such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and quantum computing, and promote the construction of big data, cloud computing, and smart cities to connect them into the Digital Silk Road of the 21st century. In April 2019, at the opening of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping emphasized the construction of the Digital Silk Road and the Silk Road of Innovation. He pointed out that China would continue to implement the Belt and Road Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan, working with all parties to promote four major initiatives: people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, the joint construction of joint laboratories, cooperation on science and technology parks, and technology transfer. Since then, President Xi Jinping has explicitly stated on many occasions the need to build the "Digital Silk Road." This series of important expositions profoundly reveals the significance of building the Digital Silk Road for driving global economic recovery, promoting interconnectivity, and creating open, win-win models of cooperation. It points the way forward for China and other countries to achieve high-quality development in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and to work together to build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.
A Pragmatic Choice Adapting to Times and Trends
In recent years, the digital economy has become a vital engine for driving global economic growth. According to relevant statistics, in 2023, the total digital economy of five countries—the United States, China, Germany, Japan, and South Korea—exceeded 33 trillion USD, with digital economy growth rates in each country surpassing their respective GDP growth rates. From the perspective of the proportion of industrial digitalization within the digital economy, digitalization is accelerating its comprehensive penetration into traditional industries and driving the transformation and upgrading of industrial structures. Additionally, according to the Research Report on China’s Digital Economy Development (2024), China's digital economy reached 53.9 trillion RMB in 2023, an increase of 3.7 trillion RMB over the previous year. The scale of China's digital economy firmly occupies the second place in the world, and its influence and important position in the development of the global digital economy are increasingly expanding and consolidating.
Driven by the digital economy, innovation in technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence has accelerated. The rapid development of trade in digital products, digital services, and data has become a new trend in international trade. However, it must also be recognized that there are currently problems such as a lack of global digital governance rules, restrictions on cross-border data flows, and rising trade protectionism, which have hindered the full release of digital dividends to varying degrees. How to achieve the synchronization [2] of digital technological progress and institutional construction has become an important issue of high concern for governments and international organizations. In this context, promoting the construction of the Digital Silk Road is not only a pragmatic choice for China to further comprehensively deepen reform and expand high-standard opening up, but also an effective way to promote the construction of an inclusive and fair multilateral global digital governance system.
On one hand, the construction of the Digital Silk Road can achieve an upgrade of the "interconnectivity" cooperation model. The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has already achieved tangible results in the "hard connectivity" of traditional infrastructure such as energy, ports, and railways. On this basis, the Digital Silk Road emphasizes extending into fields such as cloud computing, big data, 5G, artificial intelligence, and cross-border fiber optic cables. It also strengthens the connectivity of rules and standards in the digital field with partner countries, promotes regional digital policy coordination, and achieves active progress in the field of "soft connectivity." For example, by the end of 2022, China had signed Memoranda of Understanding on "Digital Silk Road" cooperation with 17 countries, working together to create an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for digital development.
On the other hand, the construction of the Digital Silk Road can provide a platform for breaking down global digital trade barriers and promoting the coordination of multilateral rules. Compared to the rising trade protectionism in certain countries, China persists in promoting open cooperation under the framework of the Digital Silk Road. By advocating for the secure and orderly cross-border flow of data and the unification and compatibility of technical standards, China is committed to creating a more fair, transparent, and predictable business environment for enterprises in partner countries, which has already yielded significant results in practice. For instance, as trade between China and ASEAN continues to increase, monetary cooperation between the two sides has deepened. By advancing cross-border payment interconnectivity, China and ASEAN have effectively reduced transaction costs. Furthermore, under the framework of "Silk Road E-commerce," China has so far signed Memoranda of Understanding on e-commerce cooperation with more than 30 countries and established bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanisms. With partners spanning five continents, "Silk Road E-commerce" has become a new channel and a highlight of economic and trade cooperation. These practices not only highlight the positive role of the Digital Silk Road in promoting regional cooperation and reducing institutional costs but also demonstrate the transparent, open, and inclusive cooperation model that China advocates in global digital governance.
Practical Exploration in Fields of Cooperation
Through the effective combination of "hard connectivity" and "soft connectivity," the Digital Silk Road is gradually forming a digital economy cooperation mechanism that balances economic benefits, rule coordination, and social development. From a practical perspective, the cooperation fields of the Digital Silk Road are mainly concentrated in the following two areas.
First is digital infrastructure construction. In recent years, China and "Belt and Road" partner countries have carried out extensive cooperation on the interconnectivity of infrastructure such as cross-border fiber optic cables, 5G base stations, and data centers. A representative example is the China-Pakistan cross-border fiber optic cable project constructed jointly by China and Pakistan. This is the first cross-border direct terrestrial fiber optic cable between China and Pakistan and a key project for telecommunications network interconnectivity under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Additionally, the China-ASEAN Information Harbor is a regional cooperation platform jointly built by China and ASEAN countries, aimed at promoting technology sharing and innovation cooperation. These projects have not only improved regional interconnectivity levels but also provided vital support for the development of cross-border e-commerce and the smooth flow of cross-border data. Looking to the future, the Digital Silk Road will continue to expand cooperation in fields such as data storage and intelligent computing power, gradually forming a "land-sea-air-cyber" four-in-one [3] interconnectivity network that both meets the development needs of various countries and supports the process of digitalization.
Second is the formulation of digital trade rules. In recent years, through the construction of comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones and the initiation of new export supervision models, China has continuously deepened digital trade cooperation with "Belt and Road" partner countries, accumulating duplicable and promotable experience in facilitation policies. Meanwhile, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as the free trade agreement with the largest participating population, the largest economic and trade scale, and the greatest development potential in the world, includes many members who are also "Belt and Road" partner countries. It has become an embodiment of the continued deepening of high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" in the Asia-Pacific region. By establishing a dedicated e-commerce chapter, RCEP makes provisions for electronic authentication and signatures, online consumer protection, and other areas, providing an important reference for regional digital trade cooperation. The in-depth implementation of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and RCEP demonstrates both China's exploration and practice in promoting cross-border digital trade and the important value of RCEP in promoting regional institutional coordination and governance innovation. These practices and experiences provide strong support for the construction of the Digital Silk Road.
Comprehensive Measures to Resolve Difficulties and Challenges
As the construction of the Digital Silk Road advances in depth, its role in promoting global digital economy cooperation is becoming increasingly prominent. It must also be seen that in the current complex international environment, the construction of the Digital Silk Road still faces a series of problems. These mainly include the fragmentation of global digital governance mechanisms, the great difficulty of multilateral coordination, the increase in new types of digital trade barriers, prominent issues regarding data security and privacy protection, and the insufficient discourse power [4] of emerging economies in the formulation of international standards. In response, we should consider taking comprehensive measures and applying precision in the following areas.
First, further promote the coordination of bilateral and multilateral rules. At the bilateral level, policy and institutional coordination can be strengthened through a series of dialogue mechanisms to explore the formation of regional digital economy and digital trade demonstration zones. At the multilateral level, we can coordinate and cooperate with international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), actively participate in the international digital agenda, and make full use of multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as RCEP and the G20 to vigorously promote mutual recognition of rules and compatibility of standards.
Second, explore the establishment of dispute resolution mechanisms for digital trade. Consideration could be given to drawing on the experience of the WTO dispute resolution mechanism to explore the establishment of mechanisms related to the Digital Silk Road, providing transparent, effective, and low-cost dispute resolution channels for enterprises engaged in cross-border e-commerce. Institutional arrangements should be advanced in fields such as cross-border payments, electronic currency, data circulation, and electronic authentication to reduce compliance costs and improve the predictability of cooperation and the efficiency and fairness of dispute resolution.
Third, strengthen cooperation in data security and privacy protection. We must strengthen the top-level design of data security governance under the framework of the Digital Silk Road, accelerate the establishment of data security protection capability standards, strengthen data security law enforcement, promote the establishment of international cooperation mechanisms for data security governance, and facilitate the research, development, and application of privacy protection technologies. We must also expand channels for mutual learning and exchange, promote the exchange of information among countries, enhance the ability to prevent and control risks such as cyberattacks and data leaks, and achieve basic compatibility of security standards under the premise of respecting the data sovereignty of all countries.
Generally speaking, the Digital Silk Road is not only the organic combination of digital economy development with the joint construction of the "Belt and Road," but also an important public product for promoting global digital economy cooperation. The construction of the Digital Silk Road provides a practical path for breaking down digital trade barriers, facilitating cross-border data flows, releasing the value of data as a factor of production, promoting technical standard compatibility, and enhancing digital competitiveness. It also creates conditions for emerging economies to strive for greater discourse power in global digital governance. Looking ahead, the construction of the Digital Silk Road will continue to play a more active role in driving global digital transformation, promoting open and inclusive development, and establishing mutually beneficial digital trade cooperation mechanisms, injecting new momentum into global economic recovery and sustainable development.