Guests attend the 2023 China Digital Economy Development and Rule of Law Forum in Beijing, May 20, 2023. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The 2023 China Digital Economy Development and Rule of Law Forum was held in Beijing on Saturday, with the aim of building a fair and standardized environment for the digital economy to develop in accordance with the law. The forum also strived to promote deeper integration between the digital economy and the real economy, and to create a favorable atmosphere where the whole of society pays attention to and actively participates in the building of Digital China.

Peng Sen, president of China Reform Foundation, noted that the rapid development of the digital economy has provided new ideas, technologies and methods for advancing the rule of law, and that the problems facing the digital economy have also created a series of new requirements for innovation in the rule of law.

Peng emphasized that the development of the digital economy must balance openness and security, efficiency and fairness, and technologies and rules. He suggested that high-quality digital economy development should be promoted in tandem with the advancement of the rule of law. For example, he said that laws and regulations should be established to guide the growth of the digital economy, while offering legal flexibility for exploring innovation.

Gan Zangchun, vice president of China Law Society, underscored that the value of the rule of law must be upheld and various legal tools must be employed effectively and flexibly to respond to the challenges posed by the digital age.

Gan's view was echoed by Fang Xin, a professor in the Public Policy and Management School at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, who noted that the development of the digital economy requires legal policies and actions. He believes that it is imperative to integrate science and technology with the rule of law to ensure the sustainable and healthy development of the digital economy.

Tian Lipu, former head of China National Intellectual Property Administration, pointed out that the digital economy has become an important engine driving China's steady economic growth and transformation.

According to the report on the development of China's digital industry released at the 6th Digital China Summit, the scale of China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan (about $7.25 trillion) in 2022, with year-on-year nominal growth of 10.3% and ranking second globally. Meanwhile, the share of the digital economy in China's GDP rose to 41.5%.  

China also boasts favorable infrastructure for digital economy development. By the end of 2022, China had put 2.31 million 5G base stations into operation, and the number of its 5G users had risen to 561 million, accounting for more than 60% of the world's total.

Li Changxi, director general of the Bureau of Law-Based Cyberspace Governance of the Cyberspace Administration of China, underlined China's achievements and plans regarding the development of the digital economy.

Currently, the structure and total factor productivity of China's digital economy have been further improved. Relevant laws, including the Cybersecurity Law and Data Security Law, have been introduced. In local regions, 24 specific laws have been formulated in 22 provinces and equivalent administrative units, including Beijing, Guangdong and Zhejiang, to facilitate the development of local digital economy.

Li said that China will further strengthen the foundation of digital infrastructure and digital resources system, deepen the integration of digital technologies with economic, political, cultural, social and environmental progress, and enhance the digital technology innovation system and digital security. The country will also optimize both domestic and international environments for digital economy to achieve orderly development at home and abroad.

Other guests attending the forum shed light on topics such as digital governance system, digital culture, digitalization of community-level public legal services, intellectual property rights, and copyright to discuss how to promote the law-based development of the digital economy.

At the forum, a themed case study activity was launched to collect typical cases on the development of digital economy and the advancement of the rule of law, so as to create a standardized legal environment for the growth of China's digital economy.

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