The 2023 Global Digital Economy Conference, jointly organized by Beijing Municipal People’s Government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, Cyberspace Administration of China, and China Association for Science and Technology, opened on the evening of the 4th. Representatives from Beijing and 18 partner cities jointly released the Global Digital Economy Partner City Cooperation Initiative, expanding Beijing’s global circle of friends for digital economy development.

    The initiative covers six aspects including promoting global city exchanges and cooperation, sharing an open, mutually beneficial market environment, jointly building a digital technology innovation ecosystem, accelerating urban digital transformation processes, supporting digital empowerment for green development, and supporting global digital inclusiveness and cooperation. Its aim is to promote global city exchanges and cooperation, share an open, mutually beneficial market environment, jointly build a digital technology innovation ecosystem, accelerate urban digital transformation processes, support digital empowerment for green development, and support global digital inclusiveness and cooperation. Together, these efforts aim to construct an open and innovative network for the digital economy among global cities and within international multilateral and bilateral frameworks.

    Data from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology shows the internal driving force and vitality of Beijing’s digital economy development in recent years. The value added of the digital economy has increased from 871.94 billion Chinese yuan in 2015 to 1.7 trillion Chinese yuan in 2022, and its share in GDP has risen from 35.2% to 41.6%. In the first quarter of this year, the value added reached 426.57 billion Chinese yuan, accounting for 42.9% of GDP. Currently, there are over 8,000 core enterprises in the digital economy sector in Beijing.