Digital infrastructure construction to become new economic growth point

Southwest China's Guizhou province is set to focus on the construction of digital infrastructure projects - including blockchain, 5G base stations and data centers - to promote its high-quality economic development, according to local officials.

It was reported that the construction of digital infrastructure, represented by 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial internet and data centers, has become a new investment field after the upsurge of traditional infrastructure investments such as railways and highways.

In early April, the province started the construction of 49 digital infrastructure projects with a total investment value of 10.4 billion yuan ($1.47 billion).

The second phase of the China Mobile (Guizhou) Data Center construction project, with a total investment of 800 million yuan, is one of the 49 projects. With a building area of 43,000 square meters, the data center can accommodate 6,656 racks and 70,000 servers, which will mainly serve the 5G network.

Wang Jun, deputy director of the big data office of Guian New Area, said that the construction of digital infrastructure was an opportunity for industrial development. "It will drive new industries to grow, promoting the development of the big data industry in Guian," he added.

As the first national big data comprehensive pilot zone in China, Guizhou has a solid foundation for the construction of digital infrastructure. By the end of 2019, the province had built 2,038 5G base stations and 17 data centers above designated size.

In addition, Guizhou will make use of artificial intelligence, an important part of the new digital infrastructure, to continuously stimulate new momentum in economic development.

Officials said that the province has attracted a number of well-known domestic enterprises in the field of artificial intelligence - including Guizhou Xiaoi Robot Technology Co Ltd, Guiyang Sensing Technology Co Ltd, Longmaster Information & Technology Co Ltd and Guizhou Hankaisi Intelligent Technology Co - to innovate advanced technologies applied in intelligent government, intelligent tourism, intelligent medical treatment and self-driving.

Guizhou has also made efforts in the development of the industrial internet to promote the transformation of the real economy.

Last year, more than 9 million enterprises joined the Guizhou Industrial Cloud, the province's industrial internet platform.

"How to improve the immunity and viability of enterprises through digital transformation has become the focus of many enterprises during this COVID-19 situation," said Yang Lingyun, chairman of Guizhou Aerospace Cloud Technology Co Ltd, the operating company of Guizhou Industrial Cloud.

He added that the platform will use its own professional and technical advantages to help more enterprises carry out intelligent transformation.

Zhao Yandi contributed to this story