A forum focusing on the digital economy and urban development was held Wednesday at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, as part of an agenda for the Global Digital Economy Conference. The forum, centered around the theme "New Technology, New Employment, New Life," brought together experts and officials to discuss key issues in the digital economy and its integration with urban development.

Tang Jianguo, chief economist of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, highlighted Beijing's ongoing efforts to cultivate a data-driven market. He said Beijing has achieved three significant advancements in developing the data element market. Tang also revealed that the city has initiated the construction of a pilot zone for data infrastructure, focusing on policy implementation and demonstration projects.

In his keynote address, Yang Zhiming, special researcher at the Counselors' Office of the State Council and president of the Chinese Association of Labour Studies, said the era of digital intelligence empowering urban innovation and development has arrived. Yang noted that the digital economy is a leading force in technological and industrial revolutions that is fundamentally changing how human resources are allocated.

Bao Lufang, director and researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, discussed new employment trends in the digital economy using Beijing as an example. "Our sample survey shows that nearly 20.1% of Beijing's workforce, approximately 2.6 million people, work through mobile internet platforms," she said. Bao proposed further measures to support the healthy development of these platforms, including clarifying the platforms' responsibilities, improving labor rights protection, and establishing a collaborative digital governance mechanism.

Since Nov. 10, 2023, Beijing has been operating a pilot zone for data infrastructure, which spans 68 square kilometers and includes 18 industry parks related to digital data. The zone is a testbed for implementing 10 national and municipal policy measures to drive high-quality digital economic development in Beijing.

Bi Juan, deputy director and associate researcher at the Management Research Institute of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said building a global digital economy benchmark city is a crucial strategy for the capital's development in the new era, which involves digital leadership, global competition, exemplary guidance, and urban incubation. "Data has become a core production element for achieving high-quality and sustainable economic development in a context of urban reduction," she said.

Lin Feng, director of the Smart City Research Department at the China Unicom Research Institute, said the digital economy plays a critical role in urban development and industrial upgrading. "Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Vehicles, and the data industry, as strategic emerging industries, will be the main drivers of the future digital economy," Lin said.

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