SHANGHAI: Despite taking a serious hit from COVID-19 lockdowns, Chinas economy has proved resilient. It has not, however, fully bounced back: Some activities, especially in the service sector, simply cannot be revived.
Yet, unlike most of the world, China seems unlikely to become mired in a long recession, not least because of its rapid digital transformation.
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Chinas digital economy was growing strongly before the pandemic. In 2018, it already accounted for 31.3 trillion yuan (US$4.7 trillion), or 34.8 per cent of GDP.
While this is only about one-third the size of Americas digital economy, it represents years of growth that outpaced that of nominal GDP. The COVID-19 crisis is set to reinforce this trend.
READ: Commentary: Retail in China has exploded with online sales agents. Now Walmart wants in
As the pandemic has destroyed some businesses and industries, it has also greatly accelerated the uptake of digital technologies.
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Unable to leave their homes, households embraced applications like JD.com, Meituan, Eleme, and Pinduoduo, which enabled them to purchase food, oil, vegetables, and daily necessities online.
Moreover, within a month of closing their classrooms and evacuating their campuses, schools and universities moved online – a shift that spurred the rapid development of online conferencing and learning platforms.
Likewise, companies took advantage of digital tools – from communication platforms like Enterprise WeChat and DingTalk to e-contracts – to keep their businesses running. More than 20 million online meetings, with more than 100 million total participants, have been initiated on DingTalk in a single day.
READ: Commentary: WeChat ban a formidable weapon in US-China trade war
TECH FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
Just as technology helped life go on during lockdowns, it has enabled China to roll back restrictions without risking public health.
A growing number of local governments are implementing Alipay Health Code – a mobile-phone application that assigns users a colour code indicating their health status. That way, they know when they should be quarantined, when they can safely visit public spaces, and when they can travel.
This also lets authorities track – and mitigate – risks. If a person visits, say, an airport or hotel, they must show their personal QR code. A quick scan will show whether they have visited a high-risk area within the last 14 days.
Such tracing – not only during travel, but also in schools, offices, and other contexts – is essential to avoid another COVID-19 outbreak and further economically damaging lockdowns.
But the health applications of new digital technologies extend much further, and are transforming Chinas entire healthcare industry. Beyond the rise of online medication purchases, 5G-based remote medical-consultation platforms, such as Ping An Good Doctor, have been flourishing, laying the groundwork for a new industrial model.
READ: Commentary: Life in China after COVID-19 lockdown gives normal new meaning
During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, when local hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, such platforms enabled people to consult with medical experts from Beijing via video.
As Chinas 5G network coverage improves, such remote consultations – including diagnoses, hospital referrals and appointments, and health-management services – will become even more widely accessible. This will be particularly valuable for households that currently lack easy access to better medical resources, say, because they live in remote areas.
Technology is also propelling research and development in health. For example, Huaweis medical-intelligence app EIhealth is being used for viral genome research, anti-viral drug development, and medical imaging and analysis.
It has accelerated the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, and improved virus detection. And, thanks partly to algorithm-assisted screening, frontline hospitals in China have already conducted more CT scans in 2020 than in all of last year.
READ: Commentary: Making a trip to the clinic is not the only way to get medical treatment during COVID-19
RISE OF FINTECH
A similar digital transformation is sweeping Chinas financial industry. With 562 million users, Chinas mobile-banking apps were the third-largest category of apps by customer base – after short-video and shopping apps – at the end of March. Chinese mobile-banking apps now average 50 million monthly active users.
Beyond making banking more convenient, digital technologies have enabled financial institutions to expand and improve their services.
For example, using big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and distributed-computing architecture, commercial banks have vastly improved their ability to serve small and micro businesses and ordinary households.
Financial technology firms have made similar strRead More – Source
SHANGHAI: Despite taking a serious hit from COVID-19 lockdowns, Chinas economy has proved resilient. It has not, however, fully bounced back: Some activities, especially in the service sector, simply cannot be revived.
Yet, unlike most of the world, China seems unlikely to become mired in a long recession, not least because of its rapid digital transformation.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Chinas digital economy was growing strongly before the pandemic. In 2018, it already accounted for 31.3 trillion yuan (US$4.7 trillion), or 34.8 per cent of GDP.
While this is only about one-third the size of Americas digital economy, it represents years of growth that outpaced that of nominal GDP. The COVID-19 crisis is set to reinforce this trend.
READ: Commentary: Retail in China has exploded with online sales agents. Now Walmart wants in
As the pandemic has destroyed some businesses and industries, it has also greatly accelerated the uptake of digital technologies.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Unable to leave their homes, households embraced applications like JD.com, Meituan, Eleme, and Pinduoduo, which enabled them to purchase food, oil, vegetables, and daily necessities online.
Moreover, within a month of closing their classrooms and evacuating their campuses, schools and universities moved online – a shift that spurred the rapid development of online conferencing and learning platforms.
Likewise, companies took advantage of digital tools – from communication platforms like Enterprise WeChat and DingTalk to e-contracts – to keep their businesses running. More than 20 million online meetings, with more than 100 million total participants, have been initiated on DingTalk in a single day.
READ: Commentary: WeChat ban a formidable weapon in US-China trade war
TECH FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
Just as technology helped life go on during lockdowns, it has enabled China to roll back restrictions without risking public health.
A growing number of local governments are implementing Alipay Health Code – a mobile-phone application that assigns users a colour code indicating their health status. That way, they know when they should be quarantined, when they can safely visit public spaces, and when they can travel.
This also lets authorities track – and mitigate – risks. If a person visits, say, an airport or hotel, they must show their personal QR code. A quick scan will show whether they have visited a high-risk area within the last 14 days.
Such tracing – not only during travel, but also in schools, offices, and other contexts – is essential to avoid another COVID-19 outbreak and further economically damaging lockdowns.
But the health applications of new digital technologies extend much further, and are transforming Chinas entire healthcare industry. Beyond the rise of online medication purchases, 5G-based remote medical-consultation platforms, such as Ping An Good Doctor, have been flourishing, laying the groundwork for a new industrial model.
READ: Commentary: Life in China after COVID-19 lockdown gives normal new meaning
During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, when local hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, such platforms enabled people to consult with medical experts from Beijing via video.
As Chinas 5G network coverage improves, such remote consultations – including diagnoses, hospital referrals and appointments, and health-management services – will become even more widely accessible. This will be particularly valuable for households that currently lack easy access to better medical resources, say, because they live in remote areas.
Technology is also propelling research and development in health. For example, Huaweis medical-intelligence app EIhealth is being used for viral genome research, anti-viral drug development, and medical imaging and analysis.
It has accelerated the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, and improved virus detection. And, thanks partly to algorithm-assisted screening, frontline hospitals in China have already conducted more CT scans in 2020 than in all of last year.
READ: Commentary: Making a trip to the clinic is not the only way to get medical treatment during COVID-19
RISE OF FINTECH
A similar digital transformation is sweeping Chinas financial industry. With 562 million users, Chinas mobile-banking apps were the third-largest category of apps by customer base – after short-video and shopping apps – at the end of March. Chinese mobile-banking apps now average 50 million monthly active users.
Beyond making banking more convenient, digital technologies have enabled financial institutions to expand and improve their services.
For example, using big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and distributed-computing architecture, commercial banks have vastly improved their ability to serve small and micro businesses and ordinary households.
Financial technology firms have made similar strRead More – Source