On July 16, the 2021 China-ASEAN Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Forum were held in Wuhan Optics Valley Technology Exhibition Center. This forum is co-sponsored by the International Economic and Technical Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the China-ASEAN Center, and the Wuhan people’s Municipal Government. It focuses on the digital economy and takes the theme of “sharing new digital opportunities, discussing and cooperating for a new future”. The topic setting of the “1+4” forum and related supporting activities of this forum are all around the areas of digital infrastructure, cross-border e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and industrial cooperation that is of interest to both parties. Chinese and foreign guests exchanged and interacted on related topics, helped to explore the potential of cooperation, actively expand the space for cooperation, and inject new impetus into the realization of an inclusive and sustainable recovery in the region.
Wuhan has reached a number of high-quality development cooperation projects with ASEAN countries in the fields of digital economy, economic and trade investment, technical cooperation, and financial services. The forum has a total of 20 contracted projects with a total contract value of 26.6 billion yuan. Among them, 15 projects were signed at the opening ceremony.
Datuk Frankie Liew, President of the Sabah China Chamber of Commerce, was also invited to give a speech online. He said that the Sabah China Chamber of Commerce welcomes digital economy institutions or companies from China and all over the world to set Sabah, Malaysia as one of the digital hubs of the digital Silk Road, to develop cooperation and sustainable development of the “digital silk road” construction. Leaders from all sectors are welcome to contact the Sabah China Chamber of Commerce at any time. Sabah China Chamber of Commerce also actively cooperates with Malaysia’s digital economy transformation plan to provide members with information and participate in the digital economy transformation plan of various industries.
Sabah China Chamber of Commerce President Datuk Frankie Liew delivered a speech at the China-ASEAN Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Forum.
The Kota Kinabalu City Hall was represented by the Deputy Director General (Finance) Sr. Lifred Wong to attend the online opening ceremony and participated in the forum. The Information technology department of Kota Kinabalu City Hall Director David Ng has also participated in the forum. Deputy Director General (Finance) Sr Lifred Wong mentioned that “China has progressed tremendously in the field of ICT, Engineering and space technology. Their digital economy has grown to about $5.5 trillion. Truly, digital technologies have transformed the Chinese economy and society.Digital Economy offers new opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation. Governments can also be benefited from the digital economy as technologies help them deliver more and better public services, improve governance, evaluate policies, and deliver better results.
It is privileged for us from DBKK to be invited by Wuhan People’s Municipal Government to join the Asean-China Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Forum as it helps and exposes us and other nations within Asean region the availability of technologies that can contribute, transform and enhance our and other nations’ economy. Close to home, apart from the various initiatives in the area of ICT, our government has embarked on digitalisation programme which is crucial in the digital economy”.
Representatives of the Wuhan people’s Municipal Government have visited the Kota Kinabalu City Hall at the end of 2019 and had a meeting with current mayor Noorliza and initialised a letter of intent for sister cities. This time, the Wuhan people’s Municipal Government specially invited Kota Kinabalu City Hall to participate in the China-ASEAN Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Forum. It is hoped that cooperation projects can be realised in the near future.At the forum, on digital infrastructure, cross-border e-commerce, artificial intelligence, industrial cooperation and other fields, Chinese and foreign guests exchanged and interacted on related topics. Entrepreneurs and scholars shared their practical experience and latest research results, bringing a feast of thoughts.
At the China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Scenarios and Application Forum, Tian Feng, Dean of Market Technology and Intelligent Industry Research Institute, said that Wuhan has the potential to become a central hub in the construction of a digital economy developed through cooperation between China and ASEAN. “Wuhan is located in the central part of China. In the future, it will have a unique geographical advantage in the closer cooperation with ASEAN.”
Tian Feng believes that Wuhan, as a major automobile town, can consider cooperation and development with ASEAN. “Unmanned delivery and L4 autonomous driving technologies continue to develop in Wuhan. When taking on a large market like ASEAN, the smart car industry will become a bright spot in Wuhan.”
The China-ASEAN Digital Economy Development Cooperation Forum was held in Wuhan Optics Valley Technology Exhibition Center.
“China and ASEAN are geographically close, and they are culturally close. Last year, in the context of the global epidemic, China and ASEAN trade continued to grow, and they were each other’s largest trading partners.” At the China-ASEAN Cross-Border E-commerce and Digital Trade Forum, Guo Chuanwei, Director of the Trade and Investment Department of the China-ASEAN Center, said that last year, the trade volume between China and ASEAN reached a new high. Among them, cross-border e-commerce and digital trade contributed a lot and continued to maintain the huge potential for cooperation.
In addition to the opening ceremony and main forum, the conference also set up infrastructure forums, artificial intelligence forums, cross-border e-commerce forums, and industrial cooperation forums.
Guo Chuanwei believes that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), which was formally signed last year, specifically stipulates the relevant content of e-commerce cooperation, and will bring new historical opportunities for cross-border e-commerce and digital trade.
“Wuhan is the top node city of China’s industrial Internet, and Optics Valley has a long-standing reputation for its modern communications industry. Together with the vigorous development of e-commerce and digital trade in Wuhan, these will create more intersections of interests and open up more opportunities for Wuhan and ASEAN. Window.” Guo Chuanwei said.
