Guiyang leads development of digital economy

The growth rate of the digital economy in southwestern Guizhou province has ranked No 1 in China for five consecutive years now, according to the White Paper on the Development of China's Digital Economy (2020), recently released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The capital city of Guiyang is regarded as the core area for the province's development as a national big data experimental zone. Government data showed the digital economy alone contributed 38.2 percent to Guiyang's GDP during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

Guiyang has reportedly witnessed rapid growth of its big data businesses over the last few years. Multinational companies – including Microsoft, Apple and Intel – have flocked to the city, laying a solid foundation for fostering and strengthening its digital economy.

Taking big data as its core industry, Guiyang has also cultivated a number of local enterprises such as Guizhou Esgyn Information Technology Co Ltd and Manbang Group – with the latter on the list of China's 50 most innovative enterprises released by Forbes.

Since its launch in 2015 in Guiyang, the China International Big Data Industry Expo has become a world-class annual event – not only in creating opportunities and attracting resources for the sector's development in Guizhou province, but also in contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global industry.

More importantly, the development of big data has helped the province win the battle against poverty and enabled its residents to participate in the rapid advances in technology.