What is the digital economy? What does it include?

The digital economy is the main economic form after the agricultural economy and industrial economy. It uses data resources as the key element, modern information network as the main carrier, and the integration and application of information and communication technology. All-factor digital transformation has become an important driving force to promote a new economic form that is more unified with fairness and efficiency.

The digital economy includes:

At the technical level, it mainly includes emerging technologies such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and the Internet of Things. At the application level, new retail, new manufacturing, etc. are its main application areas.

The essence of digital economy

The essence of digital economy lies in informatization. Informatization is a social and economic process in which the industrial economy shifts to the information economy caused by the revolution of production tools such as computers and the Internet. Specifically, informatization includes the industrialization of information technology, the informatization of traditional industries, the informatization of infrastructure, and the informatization of lifestyles.

Information industrialization and industrial informatization, namely the production and application of information, are the key. Information production requires the development of a series of high-tech information technologies and industries, which not only involve the manufacturing of microelectronic products, communication equipment and facilities, computer software and hardware, and network equipment, but also involve the collection, processing, and storage of information and data.

The application of information technology in the economic field is mainly reflected in the use of information technology to transform and upgrade traditional industries such as agriculture, industry, and service industries.