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A real digitalized society

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-10 08:47

The central government on Monday published the National Digitalization Development Strategy for 2006-20, a comprehensive document outlining goals and measures to make China a more efficient society by developing and applying information technology in the coming 15 years.

We need a strategy like this one to guide and orchestrate efforts from different levels of society.

The information technology (IT) boom worldwide coincided with China's emergence as a new economic power on the world stage during the past years. The impact of IT development on the country is obvious.

Evidence abounds: Exploding numbers of mobile phone and Internet users, increasing digitalized processes in government work and in businesses and successful companies such as Huawei and Lenovo.

However, much still needs to be done in order for a real digitalized society to emerge.

Among all the imperatives enumerated in the document, management of the IT industry and training of IT products' end users require special attention.

Poor management is still a widespread problem plaguing many industries in China. It is not unique to the IT industry, but the cost of awkward management in this sector is understandably much higher than in other sectors and thus justifies some bold reform moves.

The excessive intervention from administrative powers in the sector, for example, has resulted in insufficient competition and distorted pricing systems, which have hurt consumers and prevented more efficient resource allocation.

China does not lack talented individuals or entrepreneurs in the technology sector who can combine state-of-the-art technology with business savvy to make money.

The country also teams up with enthusiastic sometimes overly enthusiastic consumers who turn new technology-based gadgets into fads.

But true technology enthusiasts constitute a relatively small part of the population. Most people need constant training to make best use of the ever-advancing technology.

This is a particularly weak point in achieving the desired goal when it comes to introducing new technology.

However, this is not a difficult problem to overcome. Schools, employers and community service facilities such as libraries can all play important roles if a mechanism is established to facilitate IT education.

The national digitalization development strategy features a 15-year time span. This is long, considering the IT sector's rapid development. The strategy should be reviewed frequently to cope with the changes.