On July 2, the 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference (GDEC) opened in Beijing. Yin Li, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, and Fu Hua, President of Xinhua News Agency, addressed the event. Yin Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Beijing, presided over the opening ceremony.

Yin Li stated that in today’s world, digitalization is profoundly changing the way humans live and work, and the world is moving faster into an era of digital civilization. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that digital technology and the digital economy represent a decisive opportunity in the scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, calling for stronger global digital cooperation to better benefit humanity. Beijing is a super-large city where tradition and modernity meet. It is also an innovative and inclusive digital-friendly city. Digital technologies are advancing at an accelerated pace. Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, with the number of registered and launched large AI models ranking first among Chinese cities, and innovative breakthroughs achieved in fields such as humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces, and aerospace technology. Digital industries are flourishing, with more than 2,500 AI enterprises across the city and the value added of the digital economy surpassing RMB 2.4 trillion last year. With widespread digital applications, events like robot sports games and marathons are emerging as bellwethers of digital trends. Furthermore, digital services ranging from digital museums to online diagnosis and treatment are delivering greater convenience and improved well-being to a growing public. At present, Beijing is committed to taking the lead in basically realizing socialist modernization and accelerating its development into a global leader in the digital economy. We stand ready to collaborate with global partners to pursue innovation-driven development, focus on fields such as 6G, large AI models, blockchain, and quantum technology, and jointly strengthen cooperation in digital and intelligent technologies for more breakthroughs in original innovation. We will uphold a scenario-driven approach, promote the digital transformation of advanced manufacturing and modern services, accelerate the large-scale commercialization of new products such as embodied intelligence, and cultivate more new forms of the digital economy. Beijing will uphold digital friendliness, deepen the development of smart city initiatives, expand new service models such as smart healthcare and digital education, bridge the digital divide for older adults, and ensure that digital dividends better benefit the public. We will remain committed to openness and cooperation, jointly promote global digital governance, and foster an inclusive, friendly, and secure environment for digital development.

Fu Hua said in his speech that the digital economy represents a new leap in the way humanity understands and transforms the world, and is closely tied to the future development of humanity and the modernization of countries around the world. We should uphold technology for good, so that digital technologies can be marked by both major breakthroughs and people-centered benefits. We should adhere to the integration of digital technologies with the real economy, truly enabling digital technologies to empower all industries in an all-round way. We should uphold openness and collaboration and continuously improve the global digital governance system through exchanges and mutual learning. Looking ahead, Xinhua News Agency stands ready to strengthen cooperation with partners from all sectors, further integrate digital technologies into news production and dissemination, and expand the reach of ideas and information. It will produce forward-looking and strategic think tank research findings to provide valuable insights for the development of the digital economy. It will vigorously publicize the decisions and plans of the Party and the government to promote the development of the digital economy, comprehensively showcase China’s latest achievements in innovation-driven and high-quality industrial development, and play a greater role in advancing international cooperation in the digital economy and the healthy development of the global digital industry.

At the opening ceremony, speeches were delivered by Wang Jingtao, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China; Liu Liehong, Member of the Leading Party Members Group of the National Development and Reform Commission and Administrator of the National Data Administration; and Xu Haoliang, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Global Digital Economy Cities Report and Global Digital Economy Lighthouse Cases were also released on site, and the Special Initiative on Improving the Convenience of Digital Services for Inbound Overseas Visitors in Major Chinese Cities was launched.

Themed “Building a Digital-Friendly City: Inclusive Intelligence, Borderless Connectivity”, this conference is co-hosted by the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Data Administration, Xinhua News Agency, the UNDP, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Data Organization, and the Global Digital Economy Cities Alliance.

Before the opening ceremony, Yin Li met with distinguished foreign guests attending the conference in Beijing.

The attendees included leaders from relevant central authorities and Beijing municipality; representatives of relevant international organizations and cities; some foreign government officials and diplomatic envoys in China; members of the GDEC International Advisory Committee; and heads of enterprises, universities, institutions, and associations, along with experts and scholars from home and abroad.