Ramping up efforts

Ji said Beijing will build a digital trade pilot zone relying on key areas such as Zhongguancun Software Park, national digital service export bases, free trade zones and the Beijing Daxing airport area, and make full use of blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data and other new technologies for boosting production to make business more competitive.

"(We'll) ramp up efforts to develop new business forms and models connecting services and manufacturing, cultivate a group of leading digital enterprises and unicorns (privately held startups) with global influence, and build a sustainable, open and prosperous trading system," Ji said.

According to Ji, the added value of Beijing's digital economy accounted for 50 percent of the city's GDP in 2019, gaining the top spot nationwide and becoming a key digital economy innovation and development hub.

The total import and export volume of Beijing's service trade reached $160 billion in 2019, occupying around 20 percent of the service trade volume in China, Ji said.

In the next step, Beijing will continue to develop new business forms and models in fields such as new infrastructure, new opening-up, new consumption, new scenarios and new services, he said.