According to local media, the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province has been driving the development of the digital economy since the 12th CPC Qingdao Municipal Congress to explore new growth drivers and development paths by researching new technologies, new business forms, and new models.

Visitors are introduced to COSMOPlat, Haier's industrial internet platform, at a free trade zone in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Nov 30, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Jingang/for China Daily]

The digital economy development in Qingdao has taken the lead in Shandong province. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAIC)'s research, the Development of China's Urban Digital Economy (2021), Qingdao rated 15th in China's urban digital economy competitiveness index in 2020, and first in Shandong province.

According to the survey, Qingdao, along with 11 other Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Chengdu, was in the second tier in terms of digital economy.

Qingdao has taken a number of steps to boost the digital economy, including improving and updating digital infrastructure, accelerating the digital transformation of businesses, and boosting international digital collaboration.

The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo/VCG]

The city's 5G network has successfully covered all of the city's major urban areas. In Qingdao, more than 20,000 5G base stations have been installed, making it the province's leader.

In important industries in Qingdao, 52 intelligent factories, 146 digital workshops, and 350 automatic production lines have been created. The city's rate of digitalization of industrial equipment was 57.5 percent, its rate of digital R&D and design tools was 88 percent, and its rate of digitalization of critical processes was 57.2 percent.

The digital industry in Qingdao has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last five years. In the integrated circuit industry, which has initially developed a development pattern of the entire industry chain of design, production, packaging, equipment, and materials, new advances have been made. The number of firms in the integrated circuit industry in Qingdao has expanded sixfold since the end of 2016.