The digital economy has been called the "third great economic revolution" after the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and believed to be a stabilizer amid the devastating global pandemic. A white paper released at the 2021 Global Digital Economy Conference in Beijing shows that China's digital economy increased by 9.6 percent to $5.4 trillion dollars last year, second only to the U.S. which hit $13.6 trillion.

What is driving the digital economy? What does this growth say about China's economic policy? And what opportunities and challenges can we expect from this young but exploding industry?

To answer these questions and more, we've invited Wang Dan, Chief Economist of Hang Seng Bank (China); Rebecca Christie, Non-resident Fellow of Bruegel; and Hong Hao, Chief Strategist of Bank of Communications (International).