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E-commerce giant Alibaba’s home province wants to become a global digital trade hub by 2025
- By 2025, the province expects the digital economy to contribute to 60 per cent of its GDP
- The digital economy has been Zhejiang province’s calling card for over a decade, making it a leader in related policy changes.
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Eastern China’s Zhejiang province, home to the country’s largest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding, is planning to become a global digital trade hub as the country pins its future economic prospects on the digital world.
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By 2025, the province expects value added from the digital economy to account for 60 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), up from 46.8 per cent in 2020, according to its 14th five-year plan published on the Zhejiang government’s official website on Tuesday.
The 28-page plan, part a much larger blueprint, would see overall digital trade – digitally-enabled transactions of goods and services delivered online and offline – of the province increase to 1 trillion yuan (US$154.7 billion), with total online retail sales increasing from 2.3 trillion yuan last year to 3.2 trillion yuan in 2025.
The local government will also increase its investment in hi-tech research and development with the goal of having 80,000 digital economy-related patents, 737 new smart factories, and 12,000 digital economy-related hi-tech enterprises by the end of 2025.
Headquarters to South China Morning Post owner Alibaba, its affiliate Ant Group and entertainment giant NetEase, the digital economy has been Zhejiang has become known for its digital economy, making it a leader in related policy initiatives
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