The development of the country’s digital economy is uneven from east to west, with each region having its strengths and weaknesses, according to a report by research center CCID Consulting in Beijing.

The report about China’s digital economy index says south China’s Guangdong province topped the country’s digital economy in 2016.

The output value of Guangdong’s electronic information manufacturing industry reached 3.48 trillion yuan ($520 billion) in 2016, with the digital economy index reaching 79.63, the highest in the country.

Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Beijing all scored above 50. Chinese provinces and cities see the digital economy as a way to boost the local economy, the report said, pointing out Shandong’s efforts in applying the Internet to the health sector.

China’s central and western regions, which have a long way to go in building a resource-based and service-oriented digital economy, can catch up by grasping major development opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and other policies, the report said.

The 31 provincial-level regions were evaluated according to their proficiency in technology, use of resources, degree of integration, and level of services in the development of the digital economy.

Though Guangdong took third place in economic integration, it lagged behind Jiangsu and Zhejiang in intelligent manufacturing, the report says.