Recently, senior officials from the United States and the Philippines gathered in Washington to participate in the U.S.-Philippines Cyber Digital Policy Dialogue. The United States and the Philippines reached an agreement on jointly working to promote an open, interoperable, secure and reliable Internet, and an information and communication technology ecosystem that supports the development of the digital economy and a stable cyberspace, as well as deepening bilateral cybersecurity cooperation. At the meeting, the two sides discussed strengthening regional cooperation in cyber capacity building and combating cybercrime. In particular, the United States and the Philippines reiterated their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and enhancing cyber resilience. The two sides pledged to further discuss the protection of critical infrastructure from malicious cyber activities and strengthen cooperation between their respective national computer emergency preparedness teams.
The dialogue included discussions with U.S. private sector representatives on promoting 5G wireless technologies, networks, services, and cybersecurity services; building public-private partnerships to support the development of the digital economy; international coordination in areas such as data protection and privacy, cross-border data flows, advancing digital freedoms, and cybersecurity capacity building; public-private collaboration to promote public trust and support for responsible management of the Internet and digital connectivity; and investment in information and communications technology, emerging technologies, and cybersecurity to help achieve resilient and sustainable growth. The United States and the Philippines will seek more opportunities for cooperation in the trilateral Cyber and Digital Dialogue between the United States, the Philippines, and Japan in October 2024.
The scale of the digital economy in the Philippines has exceeded the 2 trillion pesos mark. Although its growth rate in 2023 has slowed down compared with 2022 and 2021, the digital economy is mainly composed of four parts: digital infrastructure, e-commerce, digital media content and government digital services. Among them, digital infrastructure has the highest value, reaching 1.7 trillion pesos. China's digital economy maintains steady growth. In 2023, the added value of the core industries of the digital economy will account for 10% of GDP, the total data production will increase by 22.44% year-on-year, and online retail sales will reach 15.42 trillion yuan.
The US digital economy has been ranked first in the world for two consecutive years, reaching 15.3 trillion US dollars, accounting for more than 65% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The "independent innovation-led" model of the digital economy is based on the US's mastery of core technologies such as integrated circuits, high-end chips, sensors in the field of artificial intelligence, sensor chips, and high-end CNC machine tools and CNC systems in the field of high-end equipment. It is a global leader in digital economy representative industries such as telecommunications services, software services, and information technology services.
Strengthening digital cooperation between the Philippines and the United States may have a certain impact on the development of China's digital economy, increasing competitive pressure. The United States has strong technical strength and market competitiveness in the field of digital economy. Strengthening cooperation between the Philippines and the United States may attract more digital economic resources and investment to the region, which may put certain pressure on the competitive position of Chinese digital economy companies in the international market. On the other hand, the Philippines is one of China's important trading partners in Southeast Asia, and the cooperation between the two countries in the field of digital economy is also constantly strengthening. If the Philippines strengthens its digital cooperation with the United States, it may lead to the market share of Chinese digital economy companies in the Philippines being squeezed.
The United States has always been a leader in the field of digital technology. The Philippines' strengthening of cooperation with the United States may place higher demands on the technological innovation capabilities of Chinese digital economy enterprises, which need to continuously increase R&D investment and improve their own technological level and competitiveness. However, the development of the digital economy is a complex process, which is affected by many factors, such as market demand, technological innovation, and policy environment. Therefore, the specific impact needs further observation and research. At the same time, China can also respond to possible challenges by strengthening its own digital technology research and development, improving the level of development of the digital economy, and strengthening international cooperation.