China aggressively pushing big data and AI to drive new job creation

The Chinese government is looking to promote the digital economy through skills upgrading, and also by attracting skilled foreign workers.
By: | September 27, 2018

 

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s state planner, said that the Chinese government will promote the digital transformation of traditional employment sectors and encourage more workers to switch to jobs in the new digital economy.

In a statement, the NDRC called on the government to keep pushing the development of China’s US$3.8 trillion digital economy as it expects big data and artificial intelligence to be the big drivers in job creation in the coming years.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the country’s digital economy grew by 18% in 2017, equivalent to a third of China’s gross domestic product.

The NDRC said China should aim to make further advances in areas such as the internet of things, big data, cloud computing and AI, that will create more high-end jobs.

China will also actively aim to attract more foreign skilled workers to promote innovation in its digital economy, said the NDRC.