(ATF) – China’s plan to splash £173 billion on interconnected “Smart city” infrastructure has been described as the cornerstone of the country’s digital future in an official commentary in the Communist Party’s mouthpiece newspaper, People’s Daily.
In a commentary on Tuesday it said the plan to integrate city functions such as roads and public services into a digital network driven by 5G technology would be “the proper meaning of high-quality economic development”.
The plan to build a “global village” was announced as part of a package of measures to help rebuild China after the Covid-19 virus halted the nation’s economy. New bonds are likley to be issued to fund the project, officials said.
The changes and effects brought about by the epidemic have highlighted the urgency and importance of the project, according to the commentary.
The “new infrastructure” is an important way to stabilize investment, expand domestic demand, and stimulate economic growth; it is also an important link in upgrading, optimising the structure and improving the quality of economic development, the People’s Daily said.
Expand investment
Speeding up the construction of a new type of infrastructure will not only help to expand effective investment and bring new economic growth points, but also help the transformation and upgrading of the real economy and activate new momentum for development, the commentary added.
Compared with traditional infrastructure, the technology, professionalism and market uncertainty of “new infrastructure” are relatively strong, so it is necessary to give full play to the joint efforts of all parties and gather innovative wisdom more effectively, it exhorted.
