China, ASEAN on solid grounds for more digital cooperation: report

FUZHOU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN are likely to see the combined value of their digital economies reach 9.58 trillion U.S. dollars by 2025 on solid grounds for more cooperation ahead, according to a white paper.

China's digital economy has been growing at an average annual rate of over 17 percent since 2016, while the rate for ASEAN topped over 34 percent, said a white paper released at the fourth Digital China Summit in east China's city of Fuzhou from Sunday to Monday.

"This year will mark a new outset for China-ASEAN cooperation in the digital economy," read the white paper issued by an industrial cybersecurity research center overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The two sides will make an action plan for 2021 to 2025 this year on implementing cooperation in this respect, the white paper said.

Key areas of cooperation between China and ASEAN in recent years include smart cities, e-commerce and cyberspace governance. Both sides have also joined hands in advancing digital technology in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The digital market in China and ASEAN spells enormous consumption potential since their total netizen population neared a whopping 1.49 billion in 2020, according to the white paper.