Photo: Global Times

What on earth is the US competing for with China? Why does the US concern itself with China's development? We may find answers through the development of internet technology.

The US and China account for 90 percent of the market capitalization value of the world's 70 largest digital platforms - the US accounts for 68 percent and China 22 percent - according to the Digital Economy Report 2019 issued by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD ) on Wednesday. 

The US leads the world in this field, but China has become the most competitive market in the past 10 years. It is China's progress that makes it possible to break the US monopoly. The competition between American and Chinese enterprises in the fields of the internet, technology and market could be a reflection of global trend in the future. 

The US-launched trade war against China is also a technology war in some way, which aims at containing China from developing technological competitiveness. 

The core of US competitiveness lies in American companies' technology competitiveness, which plays an important role in helping keep US a leader in the world. The competitiveness of China also depends on its enterprises. The US crackdown on Chinese high-tech companies results from the needs of US capital. The US capitalists won't give up a penny of profit and the internet market is the most profitable in the future.   

Haunted by a Cold War mentality, Washington tries to strengthen its containment of China by dividing the world into two camps. But in the current world, such aims are difficult to achieve, especially in the high-tech sphere. China has made great progress in developing digital platforms and a relevant market. The US was unable to hinder. However, escalating US suppression of China has further fragmented the global industrial chain and thus severely disrupted innovation cooperation in many key fields.

As internet technology advances, the digital economy will be one of the most important trends in the global economy. The UNCTAD report warned the world was facing a widening digital gap. The International Telecommunication Union reported on December 7 that "at the end of 2018, 51.2 percent of the global population, or 3.9 billion people, will be using the internet." The data reveals benign opportunities for Chinese companies to cooperate with under-connected countries.

It demands that Chinese internet enterprises learn from tech giant Huawei to resolutely promote independent innovation in a more inclusive way and so bring to the world the most advanced, reliable and cost-effective technologies.

In addition, with the support of the Chinese government and projects such as the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese companies should also actively go overseas to assist countries with limited access or even without access to the internet in telecommunications infrastructure. 

Through cooperation with these countries, China could not only improve its capability of independent innovation but also learn to integrate with the world, and thus build worldwide networks based on Chinese high technology. Benefiting from the depth and width of the networks, China can gain more space for development and be more confident about reversing the influence of US decoupling from China.