China now a major player in digital technology

2017-12-11
Xinhua

SHANGHAI — China is now a major player in digital technology with enormous growth potential, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

As digital forces shake the status quo and restructure value chains, an even more globally competitive Chinese economy, and dynamic firms can emerge, the report said.

It said that China’s e-commerce transactions were estimated to be larger than those in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States combined.

The value of China’s individual consumption mobile payments was $790 billion in 2016, 11 times that of the United States, according to the report.

Meanwhile, China is in the global top three for venture capital investment in virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, robotics, drones and artificial intelligence.

One-third of the world’s 262 unicorn companies (private startups valued at more than $1 billion) is Chinese, commanding 43 percent of the global value of those companies, the report said.

A large and young market that enables rapid commercialization of digital business models, a rich digital ecosystem expanding beyond a few giants, and the government allowing space for digital companies to experiment and being an investor in and consumer of digital technologies, are three key factors suggesting a huge upside for China, according to the report.

The report also predicted that digital technology might shift and create between 10 and 45 percent of industry revenues in China by 2030.

Jeongmin Seong, MGI senior fellow, said that digitization could make China’s economy more dynamic and enable more Chinese businesses to compete globally and even export “Made in China” digital business models.