​Convention explores digital transformation

An international summit exploring the digital transformation of companies took place in Jinan, East China's Shandong province from Nov 20 to 22.

More than 300 experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from France, Singapore, Belarus, Sweden and Russia, along with representatives from Fortune 500 companies in the field of e-commerce, cloud computing and intelligent manufacturing, attended the event.

The summit looks to facilitate technological innovation and the integration of new technology with traditional industries.

Sun Shutao, mayor of Jinan, noted at the summit that digital economy has become a major driver of economic growth around the world, mainly through technologies such as the internet, big data and artificial intelligence.

According to Sun, Jinan is accelerating the development of its digital economy. Last year, the city's digital economy reached 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in value, accounting for about 37 percent of the city's total economic output. Several national-level platforms and parks were launched, helping fuel the city's big data and new information technology industries.

At the summit, the Jinan government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with French communication leader Publicis Group. Several leading companies also inked deals with Jinan projects and parks in the fields of big data, e-commerce and smart city cooperation, which are expected to further drive the development of the city's digital economy.