Digital economy driving progress

In particular, Shen said Chinese companies have a distinct competitive advantage in terms of talent.

"Embracing the industrial internet, the abundant engineering talent has laid a solid foundation for future innovation and entrepreneurship," Shen said. "Compared with their parent generation, the younger generation has adopted a boarder mindset. Born in the internet era, tech-savvy young people usually have a deeper understanding of the mobile internet."

Chinese technology titan Xiaomi is one among the growing number of companies that have been reaping the benefits.

Founded in 2010, the Beijing-based smartphone vendor reported more than 100 billion yuan in revenues last year.

"The key competitiveness of Xiaomi is striving for an open mind and employing internet technologies to improve the production and services," said Lei Jun, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi.

Entering more than 80 countries globally, 36 percent of Xiaomi's revenues come from the overseas market, Lei said.

With the industrial internet on the horizon, Xiaomi is actively gearing up in the expansion of IoT sector. Currently, Xiaomi has established the world's largest consumer internet of things platform, with more than 115 million smart devices powered by AI.

"It will be much more convenient to use smart hardware products as assistants to connect all the internet of things devices," Lei said. "In the near future, each electronic device may be equipped with the smart voice system. Powered by AI technologies, I believe the whole internet of things will definitely take a big step forward."

John Chisholm, a member of the Development Committee of the MIT Corporation, said that devices will not only become smarter, but also adopt users' style and personalities.

However, as more people enjoy the convenience brought by the internet, security risks remain.

Last year, the WannaCry ransomware virus reportedly affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries and regions, including China. The virus wreaked havoc in around 30,000 institutions, such as universities, hospitals and research centers, as well as gas stations.

Zhou Hongyi, chairman of the board and CEO of 360 Security Technology Inc, said we are entering the age of "big security".