The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to "develop the digital economy," "cultivate several strategic emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, commercial aerospace, and the low-altitude economy," "vigorously develop the marine economy," and "develop the silver economy." With this in mind, how can we highlight the priorities and grasp the key points? Starting today, this edition launches a series of commentaries to explore these questions together with our readers.

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When the "world's largest small commodity market" meets the "frontier of artificial intelligence technology," what sparks will fly? Not long ago, Yiwu, Zhejiang released a global large language model for the **merce sector. The related AI applications not only provide basic services such as shopping guidance and customer service, but also possess powerful capabilities in intelligent perception, cognitive reasoning, and emotion processing, bringing convenience to merchants and users. By revitalizing data elements and expanding data applications, the traditional small commodity market has gained development momentum, stimulated innovation potential, and formed new growth poles and sources of power.

Developing the digital economy is a strategic choice for seizing new opportunities in the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. The Central Economic Work Conference proposed: "We must vigorously advance new industrialization, develop the digital economy, and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence." In today's era, technologies such as the internet, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are accelerating innovation, and the digital economy is developing at an unprecedented speed, with an unprecedented breadth of reach and depth of impact. At present, China's economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development. We need to seize the opportunity of the integrated development of digitalization, networking, and intelligence, cultivate new momentum through informatization, use new momentum to drive new development, and accelerate the formation of a digital economy led and supported mainly by innovation.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In fierce international competition, if we want to open up new areas and new tracks for development and create new momentum and new advantages for development, fundamentally we still need to rely on scientific and technological innovation." If we grasp innovation, we grasp the "bull's nose" that drives the overall economic and social development. This is a Chinese solution of independent innovation serving the world: the BeiDou-3 global satellite navigation system has been commissioned, and related new application models, new business forms, and new economies are constantly emerging. This is a major project to optimize resource allocation and promote coordinated development: the "East Data, West Computing" project has been fully launched, providing solid support for building a digital China. One major project after another powerfully confirms that to strengthen, improve, and expand the digital economy and seize the high ground of future development, we must strengthen research on key core technologies, accelerate the construction of new infrastructure, win the battle for key core technologies, open up the information "main artery" of economic and social development, and create a sound development situation in which scientific and technological innovation and industrial application promote each other.

The digital economy is not only a new growth point for the economy but also a fulcrum for transforming and upgrading traditional industries. Promoting the deep integration of the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence with the real economy, and using new internet technologies and applications to carry out all-round, all-angle, and full-chain transformation of traditional industries, helps improve total factor productivity and unleash the amplifying,叠加, and multiplying effects of digital technology on economic development, thereby both consolidating the leading position of traditional advantageous industries and creating new competitive advantages.

To expand new growth points and form new momentum for development, we need to give full play to the advantages of massive data and rich application scenarios, and accelerate the empowerment of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, biomanufacturing, and green and low-carbon development through digital technology. At the same time, the digital economy concerns the overall national development situation, and we must not pursue digitalization for its own sake. We must strengthen the assessment and prevention of potential risks in the development of artificial intelligence, standardize the use of data resources, and guard against the risks brought by new technologies such as big data. Only by adhering to the positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security can we promote the digital economy to develop in the course of regulation and be regulated in the course of development.

Not long ago, the National Data Administration and 17 other departments jointly issued the "Data Elements ×" Three-Year Action Plan (2024–2026), proposing a series of goals, including substantially expanding the breadth and depth of data element applications by the end of 2026. The development of the digital economy is in the ascendant, and the building of a digital China is advancing steadily. By grasping the new trends of the digital age and seizing opportunities and the initiative, we will surely be able to push the digital economy to achieve greater breakthroughs and continuously accumulate new momentum for economic development.