THE fifth IT China Summit (Shenzhen) will be held in Shenzhen Wuzhou Guest House on March 30 and 31, the summit's organizing committee announced.

The major topic of this year's summit will be innovations in information technology that promote mankind's progress. The event will include seminars with entrepreneurs and IT experts and the release of a yearly industry report.

More than 800 participants are expected to attend the summit, including professional investors, analysts and businesspeople from across the country. Many of the nation's IT giants will gather in Shenzhen for the event, such as CEOs and top leaders of Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, GSR Ventures, Lenovo, Huawei and other international IT brands.

Wu Ying, executive chairman of the summit and chairman of e-China Alliances, said a big challenge facing China is how to bridge the digitalization gap between different areas of the country.

He said widespread development of mobile Internet platforms this year will provide valuable opportunities for China's IT industry as innovations take hold in the market and cross-company cooperation pushes progress forward."I think China's IT industry is more than increasing output of traditional industries by reducing costs. It is a sharp weapon to transform the business models of traditional industries with completely new vitality,"Wu said.

The summit's organizing committee said an overseas forum is expected to be held in the United States in October, to showcase IT development in Shenzhen and China to the world. Exchanges between local and foreign IT industries also will be a focus of the U.S. event.

Shenzhen Vice Mayor Chen Biao, also the summit's executive chairman, said high-tech industries have become a pillar of Shenzhen's development.

The summit will be a platform for exchange between local enterprises and will promote the growth and upgrades of local businesses, Chen added.

(Source:Shenzhen Daily)