Asia sees thriving digital trade: report

Digital trade practices in Asia have developed rapidly, and Asian digital trade formats still have relatively vigorous vitality against the backdrop of global unilateralism and the COVID-19 pandemic, said a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Sunday.

Digital trade is mainly manifested in digital products and services, as well as emerging and transformative digital technologies and other content, such as applications, software, video services, AI, IoT, and big data, according to the BFA's Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2021.

Asia has seen thriving computer services exports and communications services exports, with their respective export volume accounting for about 33 percent and 29 percent of the global total in 2019, the report said, citing figures of The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Asia, especially the Asia Pacific region, has gradually transformed from a digital factory that relies on cheap labor to a digital center that relies on innovative industries. The digital economy has become an important factor in the economic growth and development of the Asia-Pacific region, it said.