GUIYANG, Jan. 24 -- Southwest China's Guizhou Province will seek to ensure its digital economy accounts for over 45 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, exceeding 1 trillion yuan (about 140.74 billion U.S. dollars) in scale, according to the ongoing annual session of the provincial people's congress.

Guizhou's GDP surpassed 2.09 trillion yuan in 2023, with the digital economy contributing about 42 percent of its GDP.

Peng Xianhua, deputy director of the provincial development and reform commission, said that Guizhou saw breakthrough growth in its computing power last year as one of eight designated national computing hubs, with over 70,000 intelligent computing chips now in use in the province, a 93-fold year-on-year increase.

Guizhou also reached a milestone in 5G infrastructure construction, deploying 35,000 new base stations across key areas, industrial parks and transport hubs last year.

Since the province was approved to build the country's first national, comprehensive big-data pilot zone in 2016, it has become the frontrunner in the country's big-data industry.