1、 The pattern of global digital governance is evolving and reshaping
Digital technology accelerates innovation and increasingly integrates into the whole process of all fields of global economy and society. The adjustment and trend of global digital governance have attracted more and more attention. To observe the overall picture of global digital governance and the rules in various fields, we need to pay attention to the core factors affecting global digital governance, including the significant impact of the covid-19 epidemic on Global trade, the shaping of the concept of digital governance in major countries, the change of the status of major mechanisms in the international pattern, and the power reorganization of key subjects. These factors determine that global digital governance will reshape mechanisms and rules in the new interactive process.
(i) The epidemic situation has greatly accelerated the digitization of global economy and trade
In order to cope with the rapid spread of covid-19 epidemic, countries have adopted strict epidemic prevention and control policies such as home isolation, border blockade and flight interruption. New online models and new business forms such as telemedicine, online education, sharing platform and collaborative office based on digital technology are booming, accelerating the development leap of digital globalization and bringing new challenges.
First, the proportion of digital service trade has increased rapidly. Digital service trade refers to the trade that can deliver services online and remotely. As the demand for “face-to-face” contact is far lower than that of traditional service trade such as travel and maintenance, digital service trade has been least affected by the epidemic, and even some emerging digital service businesses have experienced explosive growth. According to statistics, in 2020, the scale of global digital service trade reached US $3167.59 billion. Although it decreased by 1.8% year-on-year, its proportion in the whole service trade increased significantly to 63.6%, an increase of 11.8 percentage points compared with last year, an increase exceeding the total of the past 10 years.
Second, digital technology accelerates global resource integration and production synergy. New modes and new business forms of foreign trade such as cross-border e-commerce and supply chain digitization are booming. On the premise of avoiding close contact and ensuring health and epidemic prevention safety, they provide basic living security for consumers, facilitate raw material procurement and commodity export of foreign trade production enterprises, and ensure orderly global industrial division of labor. According to UNCTAD’s calculation, in 2020, the proportion of online retail sales in the total retail sales of social consumer goods in major economies increased significantly. For example, China and the United States increased by 4.2 percentage points and 3 percentage points respectively, which exceeded that in 2019. Among the online shopping groups, the number of cross-border online shoppers accounted for about 25% and continued to rise. In addition to consumer oriented trade, production enterprises also make more extensive use of digital technology to upstream and downstream enterprises, making the procurement of raw materials in the upstream and the supply of intermediate products in the downstream more smooth.
Third, the unbalanced distribution of data value chain is prominent. With the international expansion of digital industry and the rapid development of digital trade, data, a key production factor in the digital economy era, has realized a wider range of collection, integration, aggregation, sharing and analysis applications. It plays an increasingly prominent role in the global innovation network and production network, forming a global data value chain. Some super large transnational digital platforms dominate the global data value chain. UNCTAD research found that 41 of the world’s top 100 digital platform enterprises are located in American countries, accounting for 67% of the market value. These platform enterprises not only provide digital services for consumers in various countries, but also obtain most of the benefits in the global data value chain.
（2） Global digital governance of major economic poles
The EU continues to strengthen the governance of emerging digital technologies and lead global rules. In March 2021, the European Commission released the 2030 Digital Compass: EU digital decade strategy, which puts forward strategic objectives for the development of EU digital transformation. The strategy proposes to cooperate with Member States to establish a governance framework based on the strategy, aiming to implement the ten-year goals in the fields of digital skills, digital infrastructure, enterprise digitization and public services at the EU level, and to identify and implement large-scale digital projects at the EU and Member States levels. In April 2021, the European Union issued the proposal of artificial intelligence law. Once passed, it will become the world’s first artificial intelligence regulation law, It is expected to play a global demonstration effect similar to the EU general data protection regulations (gdpr) and other policy tools. Take the initiative to deepen global cooperation in the digital field. Gradually promote the policy coordination in the digital field between the United States and Europe from strategic concept to practice through some enumerated measures; issue the EU India Pacific strategy , proposed to reach new digital partnership agreements with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other countries, upgrade bilateral cooperation on emerging technology standards, technology industry supply chain, data protection and flow, and promote the institutionalization and stable solidification of digital partnership.
The United States has increased policy coordination with allies and partners to shape joint and consistent digital governance rules. The “us first” strategy of the trump administration diluted and centrifuged the Atlantic China Welding Consumables Inc(600558) alliance. The Biden administration made strategic adjustments, increased policy coordination with allies and partners, and jointly promoted the formation of new rules and standards in the digital field. In 2021, the United States and the European Union established the “trade and Technology Committee” to lead the global digital economy and technical standards, promote the digital governance model, and promote the coordination in the digital field between the United States and Europe from strategic conception to practice. Upgrade the “quadripartite security dialogue” of the United States, Japan, India and Australia to a four nation summit, and establish a working group on key and emerging technologies to jointly formulate technology use principles, promote the coordination of technical standards, promote the deployment of telecommunications equipment and carry out key technology supply chain dialogue. Establish a global technology and industry alliance around the fields of next-generation mobile communication technology and artificial intelligence, and accelerate the governance of key and emerging technologies.
China has accelerated the improvement of digital governance laws and regulations and actively integrated into the global digital governance system. The outline of the 14th five year plan proposes to unify development and standardized management, build a digital rule system, and create an open, healthy and safe digital ecology. The draft of data security law, personal information protection law and other laws and regulations, data exit security assessment measures, Internet information service algorithm recommendation management regulations and other rules were issued, and the Chinese plan for data governance was put forward. Accelerate the pace of participating in the formulation of international rules in the digital field. We have completed the approval procedures for the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement, and successively applied for accession to the comprehensive and progressive cross The Pacific Securities Co.Ltd(601099) partnership agreement and the digital economy partnership agreement, focusing on digital trade rules, promoting China’s deepening reform and expanding high-level opening-up, and strengthening cooperation in the field of digital economy with members, Another important step has been taken in actively participating in global digital trade governance.
