Editor's note: SAY WHAT? is an original video series CGTN Digital presented for the upcoming Two Sessions. Each episode introduces one key word that will be frequently mentioned and discussed during the sessions. We hope this is an easier way for you to better understand China's important annual political event. The key word in episode two: Stay-at-Home Economy.
Fishing in the fish tank, playing table tennis on the dining table, and even turning the living room into a sports ground… Many Chinese people had to spend this year's Spring Festival holiday at home when quarantined during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Although the coronavirus is limiting people's movement and has hit many businesses, creative business operators have adopted new means to survive.
Based on the rapid development of the internet and e-commerce, online medical services and food ordering systems, as well as livestreamed fitness and education classes, have boomed. The stay-at-home economy grew fast in the first months of 2020, even as outdoor activities dwindled.
The stay-at-home economy is a part of China's expanding digital economy. Back in 2016, the digital economy made up more than 30 percent of China's GDP for the first time.
In 2016, the digital economy made up more than 30 percent of China's GDP for the first time. /CGTN
But the trend has accelerated since the coronavirus outbreak, bringing in more people and making offline businesses quickly shift to online operations.
Supermarkets have launched delivery services to allow consumers to stay at home, encouraging people to order goods via phone apps.
Agricultural goods have sometimes been in limbo during the pandemic, so e-commerce platforms set up special sale sections allowing farmers to promote their products via live-streaming.
Farmers promote their products via live-streaming. /CGTN
From professors in universities to teachers in primary schools, educators have learned to give lectures through the internet, teasing that they are also studying from live-stream celebrities.
Since the 2020 Spring Festival, over 300 million people in more than 18 million enterprises have worked from home, developing a new culture of remote working.
Crisis breeds opportunity. A new economic model is shaping.
Enterprises are expected to make digital transformations, welcoming intelligent robots, digital trading and online training. A batch of new large- or even super-large platforms may emerge in the near future.
Experts predict that in the next few years, the proportion of the digital economy in China's GDP will increase by more than two percentage points each year. /CGTN
The market of 1.4 billion people will not vanish. Demand remains. Experts predict that in the next few years, the proportion of the digital economy in China's GDP will increase by more than two percentage points each year. Estimates about China's digital economy reaching six billion yuan by 2025 have been made.
New demands generate new supply. It could be new products, new applications, new models, and new business formats… The emerging economic model needs careful management. Enterprises and markets need support.
The Two Sessions is a forum for Chinese legislators and political advisers to discuss political, economic and social issues. It is their responsibility to find out how the government can give better policy support and improve regulation of the market.
What are their views on the emerging stay-at-home economy? That's worth looking forward to.
Anchor: Liu Chen
Editor: Wu Yan, Liu Chen
Copy Editor: John Goodrich
Producer: Zhang Xiaohe
Senior Consultant: Dr. Xia Jixuan
Chief Editor: Chen Ran
Supervisor: Zhang Shilei