On September 1, the Several Policies and Measures to Promote Urban Digital Transformation in Shanghai officially came into effect, proposing a total of 27 policies, systems and safeguard measures in 5 aspects, including the comprehensive stimulation of economic digital innovation, the comprehensive enhancement of digital service capacity for daily life, the comprehensive improvement and governance in the effectiveness of digital management, the diversified participation in digital transformation construction, and the systematic and comprehensive digital transformation guarantee, so as to escort the digital transformation in Shanghai.

Recently, ZHOU Xianghong, professor of Public Administration department of our College, was interviewed in the Observation of Oriental Financial Pudong Channel, focusing on the “27” measures introduced in Shanghai, the stimulation in the vitality of digital transformation, improvement in institutional guarantee, how to lower the threshold to make the transformation more smooth, and how the digital elements can flow more effectively. Below is the video and contents of the interview.

Q1: What aspects of the “27 Measures” introduced in Shanghai deserve special attention? What highlights can be discussed in particular?

ZHOU Xianghong: I have noticed several aspects. One is the “Chief Digital Officer”, which is of great concern. I think it is very critical how to see and feel the digital transformation and have the talents to lead it. We have been working on the guidance for digital transformation in the new cities, so I have also paid special attention to digitization in the new cities, which emphasizes the research on guidelines, which is a very important aspect of the top-level design in the process of digital transformation. Files also specifically mention the aspect of digital RMB, which we also look forward to very much. I think it also reflects the highlights and highs of Shanghai as an international digital center.

Q2: After the launching of the policy, some enterprises were reluctant to transform or dare not transform. Are there any common characteristics among these enterprises? Why did this happen?

ZHOU Xianghong: For enterprises, several difficulties may be encountered in digital transformation. The first difficulty is the nature of being cross-sectoral, cross-cutting and cross-level, which requires enterprises to have the compatibility of knowledge from different disciplines. The second one is how different policies can be inclusive, so that relevant policies in different departments and fields can be integrated. Data is circulated as a production factor, but in fact data are different. Some units may use 0 and 1 for male and female codes, and some units may use M for males and W for females, so there will be a lot of difficulties in integrating these data. The third difficulty lies in the ability factor of the enterprises themselves during transformation, which is not entirely due to the problem of attitude. I think this is very important.

Q3: Government investment alone is definitely not enough for digital transformation. About how to mobilize social forces to participate, especially those enterprises engaged in digital economy business, do you have any suggestions?

ZHOU Xianghong: Indeed, emerging technologies will produce some risks in the application process, and there will be some resistance in the process of “transformation”. So how to take advantage of policy support, how to solve the problem of trial and error costs, how to form a synergy mechanism among research institutes, schools, SMEs, innovative enterprises, etc., and how to share the risks? I think the risks can be shared through alliances. The trial and error costs may be reduced with such a method. We must develop a process of inclusion in this process. For example, when industrial transformation was conducted in Britain, many people didn’t have alarm clocks. To ensure that they could get up on time, a special service was created – the professional wake-up call. But the people who provide wake-up call service also did not have alarm clocks. What should they do? They would take a bamboo pole and knock on the workers’ windows until they woke up, without disturbing the neighbours. I believe that in the process of digital transformation, as these pictures are slowly unfolding, there will definitely be many differentiated professions and a differentiated ecology. I think it is not enough to rely only on some large companies or governments to promote the process. SMEs must be encouraged to participate, and the trial and error costs must be accommodated.

Q4: Professor Zhou, could you give us an example of successful digital transformation in Shanghai?

ZHOU Xianghong: The Institute cooperated with Linfen Sub-district, Jing’an District, Shanghai very early. Due to the serious aging of the street, it is difficult for the elderly to realize the transition from PPT to APP. Therefore, the person in charge discussed with us whether it was possible to place an electronic screen in the corridor, where an interactive process can be realized as a result. Without a doubt, there would be many problems, like how to make the hardware compatible? Do people feel the touch form convenient? Many still think that traditional newspaper reading is more convenient. But generally speaking, given the fact that the output of newspapers and the behavior of reading newspapers are less and less, large screens on the streets can replace the traditional modes and bring more convenience to residents’ life.

Q5: Data pricing is also a difficulty in the flow of data elements. We found that the central government has mentioned data exchange in the opinion and policy of building a leading zone. What do you think is traded in the data exchange?

ZHOU Xianghong: If we take the well-known traditional agriculture or industry as an example, the first and simplest is raw materials, like coal and coke stone. We often said that I would package to you 50 GB data, but this actually involves the legal boundaries, which is the issue just mentioned and now we will often discuss, namely the competition rules. The second is simple processing, like the issue about the audience. Take the Observation as an example. Who will watch this program and when will they watch it? As for primary processing, it involves the intersection of different disciplines and categories. For example, to classify the data of the program audience, we should understand not only data cleaning, but also simple media knowledge. Experience in specific work is also necessary. For example, we need to know where to place advertisements and understand the problem of pricing. Meanwhile, our current research institutes are facing the problem of closed-loop consultation. Can the scheme I provide bring economic and social value? Will my research report increase the click-through rate? After the click rate increases, pricing can be done in turn, which is the reverse pricing method. This method is still being experimented with.

Q6: What role does data transaction play in data pricing? We also found that the concept of “international data port” was mentioned in the opinion of building a leading zone. What is the significance of the establishment of an international data port?

ZHOU Xianghong: Shanghai has always been benchmarked against Tokyo, Paris, London, etc. Among them, Paris is quite interesting. Carriage was the first to appear in Paris. Such a means of transportation was used to measure the transformation of space and time. However, carriages alone were not enough. Afterwards, a series of rules about roads, lanterns, etc. were launched. The “port” in the international data port has not yet appeared, why? The reason is that a series of related technical infrastructure, rules, and supporting facilities have not been sorted out. Another aspect is where are its users? What is its added value? This is also a very important question. Can the trading platform be traceable, identifiable and replicable? These are things that we need to discuss together, but I believe they will be realized soon.