Huawei hosted a Digital Economy Development Forum at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2025. David Wang, Director of the Board and Chairman of the ICT Infrastructure Managing Board at Huawei, kicked off the event which was themed “From Insight to Impact for a Thriving Digital Economy”. The forum was well attended by policy makers from multiple countries, heads of international industry associations, consulting institution experts, and industry leaders.
The speakers examined the opportunities and challenges arising in the digital economy, and discussed the importance of solid digital infrastructure, strong industry collaboration, and open and collaborative digital ecosystems. Many also provided their own recommendations on digital strategy and roadmaps for high-quality development of the global digital economy.
Industry adoption of digital technologies like AI, 5G-A, and green energy is accelerating as more applications drive increases in productivity. The digital economy has also become a major driver of global economic growth, and more than 170 countries have released dedicated national strategies on digital development.
Digitalization remains uneven between various regions, but many report seeing some common challenges:
- How can governments stimulate digital demand to drive economic growth?
- What is the best roadmap for building digital infrastructure?
- How should governments be measuring digital economy development?
National development of a high-quality, sustainable digital economy has also become a common concern of many governments.
During his speech, Wang outlined five ways ICT infrastructure can drive digital economy development, based on current success stories they’ve studied from across the globe. His five takeaways were:
- A thriving digital economy needs solid digital infrastructure, especially ubiquitous connectivity.
- The digital economy grows faster when governments and industries accelerate their own digital and intelligent transformation.
- Future-oriented industry policy brings vitality to the digital economy.
- More digital talent needs to be trained to overcome the growing global talent shortage plaguing the digital and intelligent sectors.
Open and collaborative industry ecosystems make digital economies more resilient. This is because ecosystems create a space for industry players around the world to collaborate and innovate. This space lets them build on each other’s strengths.
He concluded by saying, “A thriving digital economy needs a wide array of digital technologies. No single country or company can do it all alone. That’s why Huawei has been a longtime supporter of cross-region collaboration and robust industry ecosystems.”
At the forum, attendees also shared insights and best practices on digital transformation, and called for future collaboration on the digital economy. Jeffrey Zhou, ICT Marketing President of Huawei, affirmed, “Huawei looks forward to working with industry partners to overcome challenges and seize opportunities. From insight to impact, we will create a thriving digital economy.” More on Huawei’s research into the global digital economy can be found in the Global Digitalization Index (GDI) that the company released in 2024. This index is a tool that countries can use to assess the maturity of their own ICT industries. It also provides recommendations for digital economy development.
