The 2020 Digital Economy International Cooperation Forum was inaugurated online in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on July 29 to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the fields of blockchain, digital infrastructure, big data, e-commerce, 5G, and smart cities.

The online forum was sponsored by the China-ASEAN Business Council and the China-ASEAN Science & Technology Industry Cooperation Committee, and undertaken by Guangxi Tus-Holdings Co Ltd, a technology investment group focusing on technology services that was established by Tsinghua University in 2000.

The forum invited senior diplomats from ASEAN embassies in China, officials from ASEAN consulates in Nanning, government officials, members of the China-ASEAN Science and Technology Industry Cooperation Committee, business leaders from various countries, university experts and scholars, as well as well-known entrepreneurs to conduct a video dialogue on the digital economy industry.

Xu Ningning, executive chairman of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said at the video meeting that enhancing cooperation in the digital economy will help prevent and control the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, as well as promote the development of trade and investment between China and ASEAN, driving economic recovery and growth.

China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners and important investment partners. In recent years, the digital economy cooperation between the two parties has become increasingly active and close, while the demand for corporate cooperation has been strong.

Xu suggested that the development of digital economic cooperation should be combined with regional market opening, industrial cooperation, and interconnection cooperation.

Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana, ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to China, said at the forum that digital technology has played a key role in the response to the COVID-19 epidemic in many countries, such as contact tracing, vaccine development, big data management, as well as resource and transportation system management. He added that the Philippines is willing to promote digital transformation and cooperate with other ASEAN countries in digital economic cooperation.

Khamphao Erthavanh, Lao ambassador to China, noted that China has a strong comparative advantage in the development of e-commerce in Laos, adding that the two parties should strengthen talent development and digital technology training to ensure that more people can benefit from the development of the digital economy.