Key points and policy suggestions for building a modern infrastructure system

I. Key points for the construction of a modern infrastructure system

The modern infrastructure system consists of two aspects, one is the traditional infrastructure represented by transportation, energy, water conservancy, and electricity, and the other is the new infrastructure represented by 5G, data centers, and artificial intelligence. Modern infrastructure construction should deal with the "new" and "old" infrastructure as a whole, and coordinate the short-term and long-term goals of infrastructure construction.

First, the planning and construction of the modern infrastructure system should be based on the long-term, and the short-term tendency of infrastructure investment to stimulate economic growth should be prevented from reducing the effectiveness of the modern infrastructure system. Infrastructure investment is an important means for the government to regulate the economy countercyclical, and all countries have a tradition of stimulating the economy through infrastructure investment. In the context of increasing downward economic pressure, local governments have significantly increased investment in infrastructure construction projects, and the policy motivation to stimulate short-term economic growth through infrastructure investment has significantly increased. In the modern infrastructure system, the traditional infrastructure has the characteristics of mature investment mode and obvious short-term economic driving effect, which can satisfy the motivation of local governments to drive economic growth through infrastructure investment. However, the traditional infrastructure is relatively perfect, and the marginal investment return continues to decline. The new infrastructure investment model is not clear enough, the investment scale is relatively small, and the direct driving effect of investment on economic growth is relatively small, but the new infrastructure has an important strategic support role for the strengthening, improving and expanding of the digital economy, and the long-term economic and social value is huge. The construction of modern infrastructure system should not only focus on the short-term value of infrastructure construction, but also pay attention to the long-term value of infrastructure construction, coordinate the construction of traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure, and prevent the short-term goal of stimulating economic growth from impeding the long-term strategy of modern infrastructure system construction.

Second, in the construction of modern infrastructure systems, it is necessary to promote the coordinated construction of urban and rural areas and regions with higher quality, and prevent the emergence of a quality digital divide. The experience of infrastructure investment shows that proactive prevention of potential infrastructure gaps is an important prerequisite for improving construction efficiency and promoting inclusive development. The digital divide is the most important factor affecting inclusive development and improving people's well-being in the era of information technology and digitalization. Under the guidance of the "Broadband China" strategy of the Party Central Committee and The State Council, universal communication services in China have basically achieved full coverage, and the access-based digital divide caused by the difference in access opportunities of information and communication networks has basically been eliminated. However, with the in-depth development of the digital economy, the quality of network infrastructure and the ability to support new businesses have become important factors affecting the improvement of regional economy and people's livelihood, and become a new digital divide that needs to be prevented: On the one hand, high-quality digital infrastructure directly determines the level of digital transformation in different regions, and then affects the ability and level of different regions to seize digital opportunities and enjoy digital dividends; On the other hand, new digital applications such as distance education and telemedicine are an important starting point to solve the gap in regional education, medical and other public services under the background of digital economy, and these applications need the support of high-quality network infrastructure such as large bandwidth and low delay. If the digital divide of different regional quality cannot be closed, it is difficult to solve the problem of regional gap through new business forms and new models. Therefore, the construction of modern infrastructure system should focus on ensuring the quality of 5G, gigabit optical network and other infrastructure in rural, remote, poor, and ethnic areas, and create an "integrated" infrastructure system that integrates urban and rural areas, regional coordination, and consistent standards, so as to prevent potential quality digital divides.

Third, the construction of modern infrastructure systems should strengthen the supporting role of infrastructure in the incubation of new technologies, new industries and key core technologies. The experience of previous industrial revolutions shows that the competition of industrial revolution is first and foremost the competition of infrastructure supporting new industries and new technologies. At present, the world is in a critical period of accelerating the expansion of a new round of industrial revolution. The construction of a modern industrial system should not only enhance the coverage and coverage quality of new infrastructure such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and data centers, but also comprehensively consolidate the development soil of the digital economy and lay the foundation for the leading digital economy. It is also necessary to strengthen the traction role of modern infrastructure system on the incubation of key core technologies, and promote the incubation and cultivation of the underlying technologies of the digital economy through large-scale new infrastructure investment, so as to build the leading edge of core technologies in the digital economy era. At present, the strategic planning of China's infrastructure construction mainly focuses on solving the problem of domestic new infrastructure coverage, and the strategic deployment is insufficient in the two aspects of cultivating China's key technologies with unique technological advantages through new infrastructure and seizing the international new infrastructure market in a planned and step-by-step way, and there is a risk of strategic absence, which will inevitably weaken the strategic role of new infrastructure in supporting China's leading digital economy in the long run.