His first mission took place at the beginning of the 15th century and visited Vietnam, Thailand, Malacca and the island of Java and then continuing on to the Malabar Coast of India and Sri Lanka.
The name Fuzhou in Chinese means "lucky city." But whether or not this city is indeed lucky, it is of historical significance in both ancient and contemporary Chinese history when it comes to serving as a launchpad for liaisons with the outside world and for key technological initiatives.ĭuring the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Fuzhou served as the departure point for Admiral Zheng He who extended the maritime and commercial influence of China throughout the regions bordering the Indian Ocean by undertaking a series of seven peaceful naval expeditions. Viewed in this light, the China Digital Summit represents not just an important platform for promoting digitalization, but its location in Fuzhou provides a linkage and resonates with China's achievements in its pre-liberation days as well as those realized after the establishment of New China in 1949. By not only emphasizing its domestic market but further developing manufacturing and distribution as well as consumption and more tightly integrating these three functions, China's government has recognized the key role further digitization plays in making these objectives a reality.įrom a political perspective, the guiding ideology of the Communist Party of China is to synthesize traditional Chinese values and norms with both Marxism and the dynamics and advantages of a digital economy. Moreover, because of COVID-19 as well as other changes in the geopolitical environment, China has made "dual circulation" a top priority. For example, many businesses and employees have adopted video meetings out of necessity and by many accounts this has created a permanent shift in both business practices and employee preferences. However, the pandemic has served as precisely this catalyst by forcing businesses to adapt while creating new consumer habits and preferences. While the digital advances and even the business models and practices for many digital products and services have been in existence for several years, the impetus for widespread adoption did not exist. The Digital China Summit takes place in the context of a new normal as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of its mountainous terrain, many Chinese describe the province as "eight parts mountain, one part water, and one part farmland." The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily views of CGTN.įuzhou is the site of the third edition of the Digital China Summit, whose theme is "digital transformation driven by innovation high-quality development led via intelligence." It is the capital of Fujian, a province with a population of almost 40 million on the southeastern coast of China.
Editor's note: Andy Mok is a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization.