Winton Dong

dht0620@126.com

SOME economic experts earlier predicted that COVID-19 would not, to a great extent, debilitate the Chinese economy.

With the virus’ ability to survive a long period of time on surfaces, its quick spread all over the world and its obstruction on the global supply chains, it is still too early to assess its full economic and social impact. But it is a clear fact that the outbreak is changing the Chinese people’s lifestyles. Unable to go out to work or meet friends, the utilization of cyberspace is now seeing a rapid increase in the country.

Frankly speaking, the epidemic serves as a turning point for the Internet to emerge as a true mass medium in China. With almost all people staying at home for an extended period of time, various online innovations are helping to fight the virus, conquer boredom and even make a profit. Some people are passing time by sharing their expertise and experience with netizens on social media platforms such as Sina Weibo, Kuaishou and Douyin. Other people are finding ways to earn a lot of money by selling goods, daily necessities, food, meat and vegetables on online stores.

E-commerce platforms such as JD and Taobao have witnessed rapid sales growth recently. The online entertainment sector, which is dominated by gaming and streaming services, has also seen a quick boom. According to statistics from Tencent Games, “Kings Glory,” a video game, earned a record 2 billion yuan (US$288 million) in a single day on Jan. 24, the Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Against the backdrop of the epidemic, while most old-fashioned department stores, traditional retailers and brick-and-mortar restaurants are struggling to live on, Internet giants such as Alibaba and Tencent Holdings have already successfully integrated their online shopping and offline logistics chains, showing their strength and the trend of new retailing.

The outbreak has also forced China’s education system to go online. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have already made learning materials available to primary and middle school students for free through several online channels. To participate, students must use a laptop or mobile phone to receive messages from teachers. This may be a great difficulty for students living in remote and poor regions. Many universities and other academic institutions are also live-streaming lessons, while video apps such as Bilibili and Douyin are offering a wide range of classes to the public.

The epidemic is also reshaping China’s financial structure and hastening the launch of an official digital currency. To further decline face-to-face exchanges of physical money, the transfer of cash across some epidemic-hit areas in China has been temporarily suspended. Moreover, according to media reports, to improve the cleanliness of paper notes and curb possible infection, the People’s Bank of China issued 4 billion yuan of new bank notes to Wuhan before the Lunar New Year.

More importantly, the key role and great contribution made by Internet-related technologies in fighting COVID-19 in China during the past weeks has prompted governments at various levels to give more policy support to such industries.

Since the outbreak’s sudden coming has influenced the lives of almost everybody, traditional social service methods seem inefficient and too easily overwhelmed. Under this circumstance, companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, BGI and Ping An Good Doctor have turned out to be reliable and effective parts in a support system that allows the government and society to tide over these hard times. They have done a wonderful job at leveraging big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, crowd screening, remote diagnosis, epidemic prevention and control, and medical security. For example, Shenzhen-based Ping An has provided online consultation to reduce offline contact, avoid possible cross-infection and help make prescriptions easier.

These new application scenarios will surely promote China’s digital transformation and usher in a new development era for such emerging industries.

(The author is the editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Daily with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)