The increasing adoption of digital technologies in China will boost productivity and reshape the economy. China’s digitalization has been rapidly developing, ranking upper-middle globally, while the country’s e-commerce and fintech industries have become world-leading.
It should be attributed the success to a confluence of factors, including a large base of 700 million internet users and 282 million digital natives, a rich digital eco-system and government support in digital infrastructure.
The degree of China’s digitalization varies across sectors, with the service sector ahead of the industrial and agricultural sectors in the digitalization process. The digitalization will increase China’s total factor productivity and boost employment, adding that digitalization in China will reduce the need for intermediaries by lowering information asymmetry and transaction costs, and lowering entry barriers in many sectors, especially traditional goods and service provision.
The digitalization of industry presents a challenge for many companies in China. The best capacity for realizing the digital transformation is found among firms that recognize the potential and embrace the opportunities it presents. To be competitive in the business of the future, every company must become a digitally competent organization – at all levels, from the CEO and supervisory board to the managers on the shop floor.
Digital technologies like cloud computing, social media and mobility are the biggest drivers of this transformation. With most consumers spending little time offline, both consumer behavior itself and the demands on companies have changed. Not only do new technologies enable more speed, flexibility and innovation; consumers also demand higher and higher levels of transparency, quality and service.
The pros and cons of the digital revolution are hotly debated. But what is clear is that every technological revolution that has ever happened has given birth to a varied spectrum of new job opportunities. App Developer and Chief Digital Officer are now the job profiles of the future. Companies need to respond to the developments and the requirements of the digital world and effect their own, permanent digital transformation.