Daily Times

Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Nazir Hussain Monday suggested transforming the industrial economy of Pakistan to the digital economy as per the Chinese model that has proved to be the best practice in this regard.

During a discussion on digitalization of the national economy here at PCJCCI think-tank meeting, he added, “We should set up integrated computing network hubs across the country to boost the digital economy and provide new impetus for the sector’s development.”

The meeting was also attended by Brig. (Retd) Mansoor Saeed Sheikh, Senior Vice President PCJCCI, Zafar Iqbal, Vice President, Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General and the executive committee members of PCJCCI. The President PCJCCI said that data center computing equipment will be key accelerators for the development of new technologies and industries such as artificial intelligence, big data and block chain, and help fuel digital transformation and high-quality development.

He also shared that under the plan, China’s national hubs are being set up in key areas including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster, Guizhou province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, suggesting to replicate this model in major business cities of Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The SVP Brig. (Retd) Mansoor Saeed Sheikh said that the national computing network would boost the free flow of data and for smooth economic circulation, with the hubs also playing a key role as the new drivers of economic growth and supporting the national big data strategy. He asserted that China has planned to build national integrated computing network hubs as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to accelerate the “new infrastructure” construction and promote green, high-quality development of the digital economy. “We can also adopt this technique to boost the development of super-large and large-scale data centers and build data center clusters in key regions, supporting businesses such as industrial internet, financial securities, disaster warning, telemedicine and video calls,” he said.

Zafar Iqbal, Vice President PCJCCI said that the new move will help achieve a structural balance between data centers in eastern and western regions, boost innovation in big data applications, improve efficiency in the use of computing resources and promote green, high-quality development.

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI said that the big data industry will be a key driving force in the transition from an industrial economy to a digital economy. It would make a big push to continuously accelerate the development of 5G networks and 1,000M fiber optic networks to create a new intelligent ecosystem, he added.