The New Coronavirus Epidemic Accelerates Global Digital Economy

The digital transformation of the global economy is a big trend. With the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, global industries have responded to the digital economy.
Schools in countries such as Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom have suspended classes, and students have moved to online learning; companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook all require employees to work from home. However, under the epidemic, all four major mobile networks in the United Kingdom were paralyzed. Spanish telecommunications operators called for people to use the network appropriately, while French operators strengthened the management of Internet bandwidth allocation. These are a wake-up call for the development of the world's digital economy, and also encourage China to continue to accelerate the development of "new infrastructure" represented by 5G and data centers.
 
 According to a research report issued by UNCTAD, the global crisis brought about by the New Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic further promoted the development of the digital economy and will have a lasting impact after the global economic recovery. The outbreak crisis has increased the use of digital solutions, tools and services, and has accelerated the global economy's transition to digital. However, the epidemic also exposed a huge gap between Internet-connected and non-connected people. Digital technology helps people stay at home to deal with the epidemic, but inequality in digital preparation hinders the ability to use digital technology in most parts of the world. This has a major impact on global development that cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the emergence of digital technology. The backward people are even more outdated in the post-new crown pneumonia era.
 

To curb the spread of the New Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic, more and more companies and government agencies are shifting their businesses and services online to avoid interpersonal contact. As consumers seek new ways to entertain and shop during the epidemic, digital platforms are booming. At present, some surprising positive signals have emerged, showing the potential of digital transformation of the world. For example, digitalization has made telemedicine, remote work and online education popular, and e-commerce has also undergone major changes, and many enterprises have benefited from it. In addition, the use of artificial intelligence technology also helps to discover treatments. It should be pointed out that as the digital transformation of the economy accelerates, those countries that cannot access the Internet, especially the least developed countries, may be further left behind. Many students in developing countries are unable to access the Internet at home or have inadequate Internet connections, their distance education is limited, and the education gap is further widening in developing countries. Their low broadband quality and high data costs hinder the ability to use video conferencing tools.

 
The world's response to the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is expected to provide opportunities for the development of digital technology. At the same time, the world needs a multilateral response coordination mechanism to meet digital challenges, including the development of new policies and regulations to bridge the existing and expanding digital divide and enable more countries to enjoy the digital dividend.