Geographic info summit to showcase digital breakthroughs

By Qin Zhongwei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-01 14:38

China vows to foster the development of the geographic information industry and boost the “building of Digital China” through the National Geographic Information Summit, which opens in Beijing today, according to Xu Deming, vice-Minister of Land and Resources.

As the first summit of its kind initiated by the Chinese government, the latest digital achievements will be displayed at the summit, including a new SWDC aerial photogrammetric camera invented by Chinese scientists, according to People.com.cn.

Surveying and mapping has become a fundamental safeguard for the development of the economy, Wang Chunfeng, vice-chief of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, said last month.

Amid the current economic downturn, the burgeoning geographic information industry is one of the few which still sees a stable growth of about 20 percent, due to consumers’ growing demands for more convenient mapping and navigation products and institutions’ need for more accurate geographic statistics, according to Wang.

A series of forums will also be held at the summit among officials, scholars and entrepreneurs to further discuss the development and application of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) in China.