The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have issued the “Overall Planning for the Construction of Digital China.”

　　BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — Recently, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the “Overall Layout Plan for Building a Digital China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”) and circulated a notice calling on all regions and departments to conscientiously implement it in light of their specific circumstances.

　　The Plan states that building a Digital China is a key engine for advancing Chinese modernization in the digital era and a robust pillar for forging new national competitive advantages. Accelerating the development of Digital China holds significant importance and far-reaching implications for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and fully promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

　　The Plan emphasizes the need to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, particularly General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important ideas on building a cyber power; to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China; to uphold the overarching principle of seeking progress while ensuring stability; to fully, accurately, and comprehensively apply the new development philosophy; to accelerate the establishment of a new development paradigm; to focus on promoting high-quality development; to balance development and security; to strengthen systems thinking and bottom-line thinking; and to enhance overall planning. Following a strategic roadmap that consolidates foundations, empowers the broader economy, strengthens capabilities, and optimizes the environment, the Plan seeks to comprehensively elevate the integrality, systematic nature, and synergy of Digital China construction, foster deep integration between the digital economy and the real economy, and leverage digitalization to transform production, daily life, and governance, thereby injecting powerful momentum into the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization.

　　The Plan sets forth that by 2025, a unified advancement framework—characterized by horizontal integration, vertical connectivity, and robust coordination—will be essentially in place, marking significant progress in the development of Digital China. Digital infrastructure will be efficiently interconnected; the scale and quality of data resources will accelerate; the value of data as a factor of production will be effectively unlocked; the quality and efficiency of the digital economy will be substantially enhanced; the level of digitalization and intelligent governance will see a marked improvement; digital cultural development will reach a new height; and notable achievements will be realized in building a digitally inclusive, convenient, and precisely targeted digital society. Meanwhile, positive strides will be made in advancing digital ecological civilization, major breakthroughs will be achieved in digital technology innovation, application‑driven innovation will remain globally leading, digital security capabilities will be comprehensively strengthened, the digital governance system will be further refined, and international cooperation in the digital sphere will enter a new phase. By 2035, China’s level of digital development will rank among the world’s highest, with landmark accomplishments in the construction of Digital China. The systematic layout for this endeavor will be even more scientific and comprehensive, ensuring more balanced and robust digital transformation across economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological‑civilization domains, thereby providing strong support for the all‑round modernization of the country.

　　The Plan specifies that the development of Digital China will be structured around a comprehensive “2-5-2-2” framework: consolidating the two foundational pillars of digital infrastructure and a data‑resource system; advancing the integrated, five‑pronged convergence of digital technologies with economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological‑civilization development; strengthening the two core capabilities of a digital‑innovation system and a digital‑security safeguard; and optimizing the domestic and international environments for digital development.

　　The Plan emphasizes the need to consolidate the foundations of Digital China. First, it calls for unblocking the major arteries of digital infrastructure: accelerating the coordinated development of 5G networks and gigabit optical networks; deepening the large-scale deployment and application of IPv6; promoting the comprehensive development of mobile IoT; and vigorously advancing the large-scale application of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. It also advocates systematically optimizing the layout of computing‑power infrastructure, fostering efficient complementarity and coordinated interconnection between eastern and western regions, and guiding the rational, tiered placement of general‑purpose data centers, supercomputing centers, intelligent computing centers, and edge data centers. Furthermore, it seeks to comprehensively upgrade application‑oriented infrastructure and strengthen the digital and intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure. Second, it aims to ensure the smooth circulation of data resources by establishing a national data governance framework and improving data coordination mechanisms at all levels. It will promote the aggregation and utilization of public data, building national data repositories in key sectors such as public health, science and technology, and education. At the same time, it will unlock the value potential of commercial data, expedite the establishment of a data property rights system, conduct research on data asset valuation, and put in place a mechanism for allocating data‑related factors of production based on their respective contributions to value.

　　The Plan states that comprehensive empowerment of economic and social development is essential. First, strengthen, optimize, and expand the digital economy. Foster and scale up core industries of the digital economy; formulate measures to promote high-quality development of the digital sector; and build internationally competitive digital industry clusters. Deeply integrate digital technologies with the real economy, accelerating the innovation and application of digital technologies in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, finance, education, healthcare, transportation, and energy. Support the growth of digital enterprises, improve mechanisms for fostering integrated innovation among large, medium, and small businesses, leverage the guiding role of “green‑light” investment cases, and promote the standardized and healthy development of platform enterprises. Second, develop efficient and coordinated digital governance. Accelerate innovation in institutional frameworks and regulations, refining rules and procedures to align with digital government initiatives. Strengthen digital capacity building, facilitating interconnectivity among information systems and networks, on-demand data sharing, and streamlined cross‑departmental collaboration. Enhance the quality of digital public services by expediting the “one‑stop service for one matter” model, advancing the integration of online and offline channels, and strengthening and standardizing the management of government mobile internet applications. Third, cultivate a confident and thriving digital culture. Vigorously develop online cultural offerings, increase the supply of high‑quality digital cultural products, and guide platforms and users to create and produce positive, healthy, and morally uplifting digital content. Advance the digital transformation of culture by implementing the National Cultural Digitalization Strategy, establishing a national cultural big‑data system, and building a database of Chinese cultural heritage. Elevate digital cultural service capabilities by creating several comprehensive digital cultural exhibition platforms and accelerating the development of new types of cultural enterprises, business models, and consumption patterns. Fourth, construct an inclusive and convenient digital society. Promote universal access to digital public services by vigorously implementing the National Education Digitalization Strategy, improving the National Smart Education Platform, developing digital health services, and regulating the provision of online medical consultations and the growth of internet‑based hospitals. Advance precision‑driven digital governance by deepening the Digital Rural Development Initiative, leveraging digital tools to empower rural industrial development, rural infrastructure, and rural governance. Popularize intelligent digital lifestyles by establishing smart, citizen‑friendly living circles, cultivating new forms of digital consumption, and delivering future‑oriented, immersive, intelligent service experiences. Fifth, build a green and smart digital ecological civilization. Promote intelligent governance of the ecological environment, accelerate the establishment of a smart, efficient ecological information system, and employ digital technologies to advance integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. Refine the three‑dimensional “single map” of natural resources and the basic information platform for territorial space, and construct a smart water‑management system centered on digital twin river basins. Speed up the coordinated transition toward digitalization and greening, and advocate for a green, smart way of life.

　　The Plan emphasizes the need to strengthen China’s critical capabilities in the digital domain. First, it calls for building a self-reliant and self-strengthening system of digital technology innovation. This entails improving the new national‑level mechanism for tackling key core technologies under the socialist market economy, and deepening the integration of industry, academia, and research led by enterprises. It also seeks to reinforce the primary role of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation and leverage the leading and supporting functions of technology‑driven backbone enterprises. Furthermore, it aims to enhance intellectual property protection and refine the mechanisms for allocating the benefits derived from IP commercialization. Second, it underscores the importance of establishing a trustworthy and controllable digital security barrier. This involves effectively safeguarding cybersecurity, refining the legal and policy framework for cybersecurity, and bolstering data security capabilities. It also requires instituting a foundational system for classifying and grading data for protection, as well as improving the systems for network data monitoring, early warning, and emergency response.

　　The Plan emphasizes the need to optimize the environment for digital development. First, it calls for building a fair and standardized digital governance ecosystem. This involves improving the legal and regulatory framework, strengthening coordinated legislative efforts, formulating a legislative roadmap for the digital sector, and promptly revising, in accordance with established procedures, laws and institutions that no longer align with digital development. It also entails establishing a technical standards system, developing guidelines for standardization work in the digital domain, and accelerating the formulation and revision of application‑oriented standards covering digital transformation across industries and the integrated development of cross‑sectoral industries. Furthermore, it seeks to elevate governance capabilities by refining the comprehensive network governance framework, enhancing all‑round, multi‑dimensional governance capacity, and fostering a scientific, efficient, and orderly approach to managing and governing the internet. Finally, it aims to purify cyberspace through in-depth efforts to improve the online ecosystem, advancing specialized campaigns such as “Qinglang” and “Clean Internet,” and innovatively promoting the cultivation of digital civility. Second, the Plan advocates for forging an open, win‑win international cooperation framework in the digital sphere. This requires coordinated planning for international collaboration in the digital field, establishing a system of international exchanges and cooperation that features multi‑level coordination, multi‑platform support, and broad participation from diverse stakeholders. It also calls for high‑quality joint efforts to build the Digital Silk Road and actively develop “Silk Road e‑commerce.” Moreover, it seeks to expand the scope of international cooperation in the digital domain by actively engaging in multilateral platforms under the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and other frameworks; creating new, high‑quality platforms for open cooperation in the digital realm; and participating in the formulation of relevant international rules on cross‑border data flows.

　　The Plan emphasizes the need to strengthen overall planning and coordinated advancement, ensuring that all tasks are effectively implemented. First, it calls for reinforced organizational leadership: upholding and strengthening the Party’s comprehensive leadership over the development of Digital China; under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Cybersecurity and Informatization Commission will enhance coordination, holistic promotion, and oversight of implementation. Local Party committees’ cybersecurity and informatization commissions should be fully leveraged, with robust consultation and coordination mechanisms established, placing digital development high on the regional agenda and ensuring accountability. Relevant departments, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, will refine policies and measures, strengthen resource integration and inter‑agency synergy, and forge concerted efforts. Second, it advocates a sound institutional framework: establishing and improving a unified coordination mechanism for Digital China construction, promptly addressing major issues in digital development, fostering cross‑departmental collaboration and vertical alignment, and ensuring effective follow‑up on key tasks and major projects. Monitoring and evaluation of Digital China’s progress will be conducted, and the status of Digital China initiatives will serve as a reference in assessing and evaluating leading cadres. Third, it seeks to secure adequate funding: innovating financing support mechanisms and enhancing the coordinated guidance of various funding sources. Leveraging platforms such as the National Industry–Finance Cooperation Platform, financial resources will be channeled to support digital development. Capital will be encouraged to participate in Digital China construction in a regulated manner, building an investment and financing system that effectively engages social capital. Fourth, it underscores the importance of talent development: bolstering the digital mindset, digital literacy, and digital skills of leading officials and civil servants; strategically developing a portfolio of digital‑focused academic programs and specialties to cultivate innovative, application‑oriented, and multidisciplinary talent; and establishing a nationwide, urban–rural integrated framework for fostering digital literacy and skills. Fifth, it aims to foster a conducive environment: encouraging universities, research institutions, enterprises, and other stakeholders to jointly contribute to Digital China, and setting up a network of Digital China research centers. Comprehensive pilot projects will be launched to integrate and advance reform experiments. Major events such as the Digital China Summit will be organized, alongside high‑profile domestic and international competitions in digital fields, to deepen public understanding of digital concepts and cultivate a societal atmosphere of widespread attention and active participation in Digital China.

Source: Xinhua Net