A visitor experiences a driverless vehicle system at the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. [WANG JING/CHINA DAILY]

President calls for greater dialogue in global community

President Xi Jinping called on Wednesday for increased international communication and cooperation in dealing with the opportunities and challenges arising from digital technologies, in order to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory letter sent to the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.

Xi said in the letter that in the world today, digital technology, as the leading force of the global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, is increasingly integrated into the whole process of socioeconomic development in various sectors, profoundly changing modes of production, lifestyles and approaches toward social governance.

Facing the opportunities and challenges resulting from digitalization, Xi said that the international community should strengthen dialogue and exchanges, deepen pragmatic cooperation and join hands to build a much fairer and more equitable cyberspace that is open, inclusive, secure, stable and dynamic.

China stands ready to work with other countries to jointly explore a global digital development path, step up the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace and contribute wisdom and strength to world peace and development as well as the progress of human civilization, he said.

The global digital development path features the joint building and sharing of digital resources, a vibrant digital economy, precise and efficient digital governance, a flourishing digital culture, effectively guaranteed digital security and mutually beneficial digital cooperation for win-win results, according to Xi.

Since 2014, the World Internet Conference has been held annually in Wuzhen. Xi put forward the initiative of jointly building a community with a shared future in cyberspace when addressing the second World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in 2015. This year's theme is "Towards a Shared Digital Future in a Connected World — Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace".

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said Xi's remarks elaborated on the opportunities and challenges brought by digitalization, and demonstrated China's sincere willingness to join hands with other countries in building cyberspace and exploring a promising global digital development path.

John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd, an international association of mobile operators, highlighted the significance of closing the digital gap to ensure that everyone has the chance to benefit from the transformational power of access to the internet, as people work toward building a better future and a more inclusive and connected society.

With the blossoming of 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and other innovative digital technologies, the digital economy is gradually becoming the integral driving force for economic growth. According to a white paper released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the scale of China's digital economy reached 45.5 trillion yuan ($6.3 trillion) in 2021, accounting for 39.8 percent of the country's GDP.

Pointing to the dynamism and competitiveness of China's digital economy, Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of United States tech company IBM Corp, said it has been helping foster innovation and accelerate the digital transformation of a variety of industries in China since the 1980s and is committed to contributing to China's ongoing growth.

"Despite the uncertainties of today's world, we are confident that innovation, trust and collaboration will ensure that we can move through current challenges to a more stable and prosperous future in China and around the world," Krishna said.

Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of US tech company Cisco Systems, said he is confident that the Chinese market will continue to create significant and exciting opportunities, while emphasizing that the company will continue to make investments in China's digital economy and sustainability efforts.