[Photo/VCG] China now has one of the largest and most developed digital economies in the world, thanks to its rapid economic development and technological advancement over the last few decades. According to a white paper issued by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the Chinese digital economy is now worth $7.1 trillion, ranking second after the United States. The country also has many digital economy giants, including Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, that are supporting the Chinese digital economic ecosystem. After the COVID-19 pandemic, with its myriad public health considerations, China’s development of online economy has also sped up across many industries, such as education, healthcare, telecommunications, and those that provide daily necessities. Given the digital economy’s robust and rapid growth, it is important to further understand the forces driving its success, as well as anticipate challenges ahead. In recent years, the Chinese government has been highly committed to the development of the digital economy to support its high-value-added and innovative economic transformation. Many cutting-edge and emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, fin-tech, and 5G now support the digital economy. Moreover, many favorable long-term and strategic policies and initiatives have been put in place to […]