The rise of China's digital economy will drive the country's economic growth and provide more opportunities for the country's workforce to transition from low-paid manual labor to more valuable roles, according to a U.S. academic.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Denis Simon, the former executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University in China, a joint venture university established by Duke University in North Carolina and China's Wuhan University, said that "brainpower" will be the defining feature of China's new economy.