The digital economy alone generates almost a third of China's gross domestic product. This is supported by a report presented by Beijing at the annual Chinese conference on cyberspace. The report presented yesterday in Wuzhen by the Chinese State Academy for Cyberspace Studies claims that last year the Chinese digital economy generated a turnover of 22.580 trillion yuan, equal to about 3.400 trillion dollars. This is second only to the United States, and accounts for 30,3 percent of the national economy, the report said. The annual event taking place in Wuzhen has the function of supporting the web censorship policies adopted by the Chinese state, and was exploited this year to promote the image of an "open" Chinese cyberspace, despite the necessary controls. to guarantee the stability of the social order. The report of the Chinese Academy evaluates the development of the Chinese digital economy on the basis of a series of factors, including industrial capacity and “governance”, which also includes the restrictive measures adopted by Beijing. "The Chinese experience suggests that both factors are crucial for the development of an Internet environment that serves the fundamental interests of the people," said Xu Yunhong, an official of the Academy for Cyberspace Studies at a press conference. The three-day conference, which will close this evening, was set up to counter Western countries' criticism of Beijing's restrictions on the web, which include the blocking of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and the ban on a series of contents deemed dangerous or destabilizing: measures that the West has however begun to contemplate in its turn in response to threats such as terrorism or external interference in democratic processes.
