Digital Economy and High-Quality Industrial Development

Qu Yongyi*

Institute of Industrial Economics (IIE), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing, China

Abstract: In the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China has vowed to pursue high-quality industrial development. The digital economy drives high-quality industrial development by creating means of production, reducing transaction costs, transforming industrial organization, and improving the efficiency of resource allocation. The digital factor has become a key factor of production for high-quality development. Digital and user-created innovations are the new normal for cross-sectoral integration and innovation. Great progress has been made in China’s high-quality industrial development driven by the digital economy. The rapid development of digital industries and industrial digitalization have reshaped the industrial division of labor and helped the ascension of related industries towards the medium- and high-end links of the global value chains. However, China still faces numerous challenges in the development of its digital economy; it lacks indigenous industrial innovation, depends on foreign supply of core technologies, and is ill-prepared for industrial digitalization. Much work remains to be done to further coordinate the development of some industries and foster digital ecosystems for the symbiosis of industrial chains. In furthering the high-quality industrial development driven by the digital economy, China should stay at the forefront of digital innovation, promote digital governance, enhance data factor agglomeration, and foster digital talents.

Keywords: Digital economy, high-quality industrial development, indigenous innovation

JEL Classification Code: O30, L16, L60

DOI: 10.19602/j.chinaeconomist.2022.11.01