Southeast Asia eyes on Chinese digital technology to boost recovery – Xinhua

BANGKOK, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Southeast Asian countries are looking at China's digital technology, as they are engaged in post-pandemic economic recovery and national digital transformation.

During the Huawei Connect 2022 on Sept. 19-21, an event gathering global ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industrialists, Thai Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said Thailand should turn to a knowledge- and innovation-intensive economic model that prioritizes digital transformation as a key driver of economic growth in the post-pandemic era.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Thailand's digital transformation started early and achieved rapid development. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the penetration rate of major digital technology applications, such as mobile payment, e-commerce, cloud applications, has increased by more than 20 percent, according to Chaiwut.

From the installation of 5G stations to smart hospitals and floating solar farms, Chinese technologies can be seen in many aspects of the country's digitalization journey.

Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow thanked Huawei for its contribution in the country's transformation, especially with regard to 5G and cloud applications, and expressed his hope for comprehensive collaboration to achieve a better and greener Thailand.

To better facilitate the digital development of the region, Huawei launched its latest "Go Cloud, Go Global" Plan at the 3-day event, aiming at expanding their partner network to deepen the company's position in areas such as 5G, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI).

Thailand is aiming for the digital economy to account for 30 percent of its GDP by 2027. Other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, similarly raised the priority on digital transformation as part of the national development strategy.

Indonesia has made digital transformation one of the key priorities of this year's G20 summit, and aims to achieve a more inclusive global economic recovery mainly through digitalization of SMEs and focus on building digital infrastructures, said Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.

Huawei addresses the regional requirement for digital infrastructure by operating data centers in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as by launching new data centers in Indonesia later this year.

While the development of the digital industry offers opportunities to boost economic growth, it also creates an unprecedented demand for digital skills, especially among young people, according to Yang Mee Eng, executive director of the ASEAN Foundation.

She mentioned the Seed for the Future Project, launched this year by the foundation in partnership with Huawei, which is meant to unlock local potential in the ICT sector by training and knowledge transfer.

Huawei's Rotating Chairman Hu Houkun has committed to train an additional 500,000 ICT professionals in the next five years through the project and other company initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Southeast Asia eyes on Chinese digital technology to boost recovery - Xinhua