Singapore (VNA) - With the pandemic showing little signs of slowing and as countriesaround the world shift away from the traditional economy, Asia has an opportunityto consider building a more integrated digital economy and to promote digitaltrade and a common digital currency.

According to theInternational Monetary Fund’s outlook report on the Asia-Pacific regionreleased in October 2018, the level of digitalisation in various Asianeconomies is higher than that of countries in other regions, said an article recently published on ThinkChina e-magazine.

Even the relativelypoorer Asian economies are going digital at an ever-increasing pace. Over thepast 20 years, digital innovation has contributed about a third of Asia’s percapita economic growth. Asia will lead global digitalisation, and will benefitgreatly from the growth of its digital economies. For instance, e-commerceseems to be boosting companies’ productivity, and going digital may helpimprove targeted expenditure and streamline taxation processes.

The United NationsConference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) noted that global trade in 2020 isexpected to shrink by about 7-9 percent as compared to 2019, and closercooperative ties in digital trade within Asia would help Asian countries towithstand the impact of shrinking global trade, or to buffer the blow.

According to the 2020China Internet Development Report, China’s digital economy in 2019 was worth35.8 trillion RMB, or 36.2 percent of its GDP, putting it among the top in theworld in terms of scale and growth rate. The fifth plenary session of the 19thCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in December 2020unambiguously proposed stepping up the development of digitalisation, promotingthe formation and growth of the digital industrial sector, and strengtheninginternational cooperation in areas such as internet infrastructure, big data,cloud computing and e-commerce, to build a digital Silk Road.

The recent signing ofthe Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the successfulconclusion of negotiations on the China-EU investment agreement are expected toprovide positive impetus for global economic recovery. These two agreementsinclude significant content on cooperation in the digital economy, such as inthe areas of trade digitalisation, cross-border e-commerce, and fintech amongthe signatory countries. This will certainly help China, Asia, and ASEANunleash their enormous growth potential in the digital economy in thepost-pandemic era.

ASEAN is a region ofmany young people, with over half of its population aged below 30. Smartphonesare prevalent among the young and the internet economy is growing at anastonishing rate which is set to hit 300 billion USD by 2025.

In Asia, building thedigital economy has been a key part of the strategic development of Singaporeand China in recent years, and results have been remarkable.

With the rise of newinformation technologies and the digital economy, Singapore has in recent yearstaken an active lead in establishing digital economic partnerships withcountries such as China, New Zealand, Australia and Chile, as well as ASEAN.New bilateral Digital Economy Partnership Agreements are signed to boostdigital connectivity, and this includes cooperation in digital trade,interoperability between digital systems, enhanced cross-border data flow, datainnovation, and fintech.

For example, thevision behind setting up the ASEAN Smart Cities Network and building an opendata network for ASEAN is to promote digital integration in regional economyand trade.

The article said withthe pandemic hampering the growth of the traditional economy, and under theshadow of unilateralism, there is great potential for the growth of thecontactless digital economy. Coupled with the favourable trends and conditionsfor the development of the digital economy outlined above, it is timely andwill be significant in seizing the opportunity to build a more integrated Asiandigital economy./.