During the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, the Guangxi delegation submitted the Proposal on Supporting Guangxi to Establish a China ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Innovation Cooperation Center. In the era of artificial intelligence, Guangxi leverages its unique advantages to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries in the field of digital economy. In February of this year, Guangxi and Laos signed a contract to jointly establish the China Laos Artificial Intelligence Innovation Cooperation Center. This is the first artificial intelligence cooperation and innovation platform signed between China and ASEAN countries. In recent years, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the digital field has flourished, with all parties sharing the "digital dividend" and working together to create a "digital future", injecting more new momentum into regional economic and social development. Currently, China has signed memorandums of understanding with multiple ASEAN countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia to strengthen investment cooperation in the digital economy. In Pingxiang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China's first cross-border smart port, the China Vietnam Friendship Port - Friendship Smart Port project, has recently entered the final stage of debugging. After the port is officially put into use, it will be equipped with an intelligent inspection system based on satellite navigation and 5G technology, using unmanned transport vehicles and automated lifting equipment. With the help of an intelligent command and dispatch platform, it will achieve 24-hour uninterrupted unmanned and intelligent customs clearance. As the largest land port from China to ASEAN countries, the Friendship Port has been given the "digital" wings, which will further improve customs clearance efficiency and effectively serve the stable development of the China ASEAN industrial and supply chains. The friendship port with a strong sense of technology is a vivid epitome of China ASEAN empowering high-quality development in various fields with a "digital engine". Nowadays, digital cooperation has become a major highlight in the bilateral and multilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. In terms of infrastructure, China has built cross-border land fiber optic cable systems such as China Vietnam, China Laos, and China Myanmar, and achieved network interconnection with more than ten ASEAN operating enterprises. Several Chinese companies actively participate in the construction of digital infrastructure in the ASEAN region, promote the development of 5G digital infrastructure with Thailand, carry out national network projects with Indonesia, build national data centers in Malaysia, and cooperate with the Philippines to promote fiber to the home, accelerating the process of digital universal services in ASEAN countries. Data shows that in recent years, the cross-border e-commerce transaction volume between China and ASEAN has grown at an average annual rate of over 20%, becoming an important driving force for the growth of bilateral trade. Meanwhile, mobile payments between China and ASEAN countries are becoming increasingly popular. In 2024, PayNet Malaysia announced a partnership with WeChat Pay, enabling over 2 million Malaysian businesses to support WeChat Pay. At present, China has signed memorandums of understanding with multiple ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia, to strengthen investment cooperation in the field of digital economy. The 3.0 version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area has also included a chapter on digital economy for the first time, laying out plans for digital economy cooperation between the two sides. In October 2024, at the 27th China ASEAN Leaders' Meeting, the "China ASEAN Joint Statement on Promoting the Establishment of a Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Ecosystem Cooperation" was released, which clearly stated that the joint construction of a digital ecosystem will be the focus of cooperation in the next stage. China has technological, talent, and experience advantages in developing the digital economy, while ASEAN countries have strong demand and vast markets, accelerating the 'two-way rush'. In recent years, many ASEAN countries have increased investment, formulated relevant plans, and actively promoted the development of digital technology and the digital economy. For example, Indonesia has released the "White Paper on Digital Economy Development 2030", proposing to vigorously develop digital finance and e-commerce; Vietnam has released the National Action Plan for the Development of Digital Economy for 2024-2025, proposing that the proportion of digital economy to GDP should reach 20.5% by 2025; The Thai government is vigorously promoting the "Cloud First" plan, aimed at driving the country's digital transformation and supporting the construction of cloud computing and big data centers. The "2024 ASEAN Digital Economy Report" jointly released by Google, Temasek, and Bain&Company shows that the total transaction volume of digital economy goods in ASEAN countries is expected to be $263 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15%. Malaysia, as the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2025, has expressed its commitment to completing the negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) within 2025, paving the way for regional digital technology integration, and quickly building ASEAN into a world leading digital economy. It is expected that from the effective date of DEFA to 2030, the scale of ASEAN countries' digital economy can increase to $2 trillion. In this context, many ASEAN countries look forward to engaging in digital cooperation with China. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Pathet, stated that China has achieved great success in the development of its digital economy, and its advanced experience in infrastructure construction, 5G, and artificial intelligence is conducive to empowering ASEAN's digital transformation. China ASEAN has a solid foundation for digital cooperation Xu Liping, a researcher at the Asia Pacific and Global Strategy Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Southeast Asian Studies Center, pointed out in an interview with our reporter that firstly, political mutual trust continues to deepen, laying a foundation of trust for all parties to carry out development strategy docking, technology transfer, and technology cooperation; Secondly, there are common development needs. Both China and ASEAN countries are developing countries and hope to achieve economic growth and improve people's livelihoods through digital technology and digital economy empowerment; Thirdly, the construction of regional integration is accelerating, and platforms such as the China ASEAN "10+1" cooperation mechanism and the China ASEAN Technology Transfer Center are leading the vigorous development of digital cooperation; The fourth is complementary advantages. China has technological, talent, and experience advantages in developing the digital economy, while ASEAN countries have strong demand and vast markets, accelerating the "two-way rush". The prospect of cooperation is vast. The Chinese digital market is huge, and the pace of expanding opening up is constantly accelerating, which will provide broad development space for ASEAN digital enterprises to conduct business in China. The ASEAN digital market has extraordinary potential and is an important destination for Chinese digital enterprises to go global. In 2025, a series of activities such as the Fifth China ASEAN Digital Ministerial Meeting, China ASEAN Digital Ecological Cooperation Forum, and the Second China Thailand Digital Economy Cooperation Ministerial Dialogue will be held, and China ASEAN digital cooperation will continue to unleash new vitality. ASEAN Secretary General Gao Jinhong stated that ASEAN will continue to deepen cooperation with China, jointly build an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem, bridge the digital divide, promote innovation and benefit the people, and lay a solid foundation for long-term prosperity in the region. To promote sustainable development of China ASEAN digital cooperation, talent cultivation is the key. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have played an important role in the training of digital talents in ASEAN. For example, Alibaba signed a global trade platform cooperation agreement with the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce in 2023 to provide digital training for nearly a hundred Cambodian small and medium-sized enterprises; The Laos Institute of Posts and Telecommunications Technology, which was built with Chinese assistance, has been put into use, providing an important platform for Laos to cultivate communication technology professionals; Huawei has partnered with Thai universities, research institutions, and enterprises to train 100000 digital talents by 2025. Willet Privat, President of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, stated that the combination of education and technology is an important force driving social progress. He looks forward to cultivating more top talents who can lead digital transformation in the region through deep cooperation with Huawei. Xu Liping pointed out that China ASEAN scientific and technological cooperation started early and has strong practicality. At present, the focus of technological cooperation between the two sides is on new formats including digital economy, green economy, etc. With the substantial signing and implementation of the 3.0 version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area in the future, technological cooperation will become an important driving force and lever for multi-level and multi field cooperation between the two sides, injecting more momentum into the stability and upgrading of the production and supply chain and the common development of the region. In this context, there is great potential for all parties to jointly build a digital ecosystem. Yu Xiaohui, President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, believes that the prospects for China ASEAN digital cooperation are broad. The Chinese digital market is huge, and the pace of expanding opening up is constantly accelerating. The pilot work of expanding value-added telecommunications services to the outside world has been launched, which will provide broad development space for ASEAN digital enterprises to conduct business in China. ASEAN's digital market has great potential, with more than 480 million active Internet users, 80% of whom are digital consumers. It is an important destination for Chinese digital enterprises to go to sea. (New Society)