Digital economy development crucial for high-quality growth, say experts

China should attach more importance to the development of the digital economy by strengthening internet-related laws and the protection of intellectual property rights as the new form of economy is expected to account for 35 percent of the country's GDP by 2020, experts said on Tuesday.

The nation's top leadership, led by President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, have urged the country to accelerate development of the digital economy and cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data, to better serve the real economy and pursue high-quality development.

Xi on Oct 31 urged the country to make more efforts to develop the new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) to promote the country's high-quality economic growth.