The digital economy has become an important engine to promote the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries and the high-quality development of the regional economy in Shandong province.

Jin Ding/China Daily

According to statistics released by the Shandong Provincial Big Data Bureau last year, the revenue of Shandong's information technology industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan ($188.28 billion). The added value of the digital economy's core industries accounted for more than 6 percent of the province's GDP.

With the deep integration of the new generation of information technology and the manufacturing industry, Shandong has built a new digital, networked and intelligent infrastructure and a new industrial ecology to speed up the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

At present, the integration level of informatization and industrialization in Shandong ranks second in China, and several projects have become national benchmarks.

The vigorous development of the digital economy has greatly promoted the formation of a unified consumer market and the modernization of the retail industry.

Last year, Shandong's online retail sales reached 461.3 billion yuan, up 13.8 percent year-on-year, and a diversified e-commerce system has taken shape in the province.

Meanwhile, Shandong is also on track to develop a smarter agricultural sector. It has established more than 100 smart farms and 10 smart pastures.

Shandong will ramp up efforts to strengthen digital technological innovations so as to develop the digital economy.