With a nominal growth of 16.2 percent year on year, China's digital economy grew rapidly in 2021 to become a leading force in economic development, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday, citing several reports released at an industry conference.

The China Digital Economy Innovation Development Conference opened on Friday in Shantou City, south China's Guangdong Province.

"The proportion of China's digital economy in GDP has been increasing for the last 10 years, with an average annual growth rate higher than that of the GDP," said Wang Zhiqin, vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The sector's structure has been optimized, with industrial internet, intelligent manufacturing, internet of vehicles and other integrated new industries and forms of business accounting for 82 percent of the digital economy, Wang told China Media Group (CMG). 

The communications industry is a significant contributor to that growth, one report said. 

China Mobile Ltd., a communications services provider in China, said they had launched over 950,000 5G base stations. "We will achieve 5G coverage in townships and towns across the country by the end of the year," said Dong Xin, general manager of the company.

Jiang Changjun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and a professor at Tongji University, said the digital economy should be strengthened by constructing new infrastructure, developing information technology application industries and increasing personnel training.

China's digital economy was worth over 45 trillion yuan ($6.72 trillion) in 2021, accounting for 39.8 percent of GDP, according to the 2022 China's Digital Economy Development Report released by the CAICT.