China is far ahead in the digital economy in terms of scale with its value, reaching US$7.47 trillion in 2022, according to the Asia Digital Economy Report 2023 released on Thursday (December 21).

According to this report, issued during an event in Beijing by Li Baodong, secretary-general of Boao Forum for Asia, Japan ranked second with US$2.37 trillion, followed by the Republic of Korea at US$952.3 billion.

The digital economy in India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Indonesia, Israel and Malaysia all exceeded US$100 billion, according to the report.

“China is one of the countries in the world where the digital economy has the most friendly development environment, strongest growth momentum, and widest applications,” Li said.

According to him, China’s recently-held Central Economic Work Conference has stressed efforts to promote new industrialisation and develop the digital economy.

“It can be expected that the digital economy will continue to become an important driving force for China’s economic growth.”

The report suggests that the digital economy of the selected 14 Asian countries was estimated to have reached US$12.8 trillion in 2022, a nominal increase of 3.5 per cent year on year.

It, however, noted that the digital divide remains pronounced across Asian economies in the building of digital infrastructure. Markets such as China, Japan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea are at the forefront of the development of digital infrastructure, while other countries in the region still face insufficient investment and technical support.

Li said that Asian countries should work together to promote the sharing of digital economic development dividends, strengthen network construction and research cooperation, and promote the interconnection of information infrastructure.