Lawmakers have made various suggestions during deliberations of a report on the development of the digital economy submitted by the State Council at the 37th session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Oct 29.

These suggestions focused on addressing main challenges identified in the report, such as insufficient innovation capacity in key areas, a slow digital transformation of traditional industries, and the digital divide that needs to be bridged.

Governance system in according with the law

To improve the digital economy governance, Cao Jianming, vice-chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, called for efforts to prevent and mitigate security risks in the application of digital technologies at different levels including data, cyberspace, and economic and social implications. Such efforts include formulating rules that fit the development dynamics of digital economy and strengthening the cross-departmental coordination mechanism, according to Cao.

Shen Yueyue, also vice-chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, said it's necessary to improve relevant laws and regulations in building the security system for digital economy, enhance technical support, and increase supervision.

In the view of Zheng Gongcheng, security concern should be regarded as a higher priority and the risk prevention and control in case of telecom and online frauds has not been fully developed.

More input into less-developed region

In response to development disparities indicated in the report, Wei Houkai, member of the NPC's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, suggested to increase investment in digital infrastructure in rural areas, enhance digital literacy skills for low-income people and the elderly, and also advance the urban-rural integration.

Lyu Shiming's suggestions are mainly to introduce compulsory requirements in order to tackle the digital gap, heighten supervision and assessment in the endeavor, and motivate the participation of all stakeholders to gain the best economic and social values.

In the deliberations, Wang Xiankui noted that improving the computing infrastructure in Northeast China will not only help promote the building of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor but also play an irreplaceable role in safeguarding national defense, food security and other endeavors.

Collaborative innovation in key areas

In term of building artificial intelligence infrastructure, Weng Mengyong proposed more coordination efforts to boost technology innovation first in key fields such as the transportation industry, which will improve the safety and efficiency of the road network.

The State Council should take stronger initiatives to accelerate digital transformation of the real economy including the use of intelligent technologies in agriculture, according to Sun Qixin.

In the session, Yang Zhen said information and communications technology like Heath QR has proved to be significant in the COVID-19 response but also led to problems associated with tracking the movement of people. Yang urged an improvement of ICT application to bolster digital governance capacity.