薛玉洁

In its latest white paper， published in October 2019， the Development Research Center （DRC） of the State Council， outlined the current state of the countrys cloud computing industry， as well as prospects for its future development and application. The report predicts that the domestic industry will eclipse 300 billion yuan by 2023—over a threefold increase from its 2018 market value of 96.28 billion yuan—and that， in five years time， over 60% of the countrys businesses and government agencies will rely on cloud computing as an integral part of their daily operations.

Cloud computing entails using a network of remote servers—rather than a local server or a personal computer—to store， manage， and process data. With its 854 million internet users， China has the largest online population of any country in the world， generating an enormous amount of data that must be stored securely and can be extensively analyzed. Compared with on-site servers， cloud-based services are more scalable， affordable， and secure.

According to a 2019 report from market research firm IDC， cloud computing and artificial intelligence will more than double the rates of innovation （×2.6） and productivity （×2.3） at Chinese companies and organizations by 2021. For these reasons， cloud computing is considered a crucial infrastructural cog1 in Chinas push for an industrial upgrade as it moves to embrace new technologies like artificial intelligence， internet of things， and big data.

“Looking around the world， cloud computing has become the infrastructure behind industrial intelligence upgrades，” Gong Chenguang， director of the DRCs International Technology and Economy Institute， said at a press conference announcing the report. “We should strengthen governmental backing， take decisive action， and follow a clear development target … to push for the high-quality domestic development of the cloud computing industry.”

The Chinese government is already actively pushing for the development of the domestic cloud computing industry. Chinas Internet Plus strategy， introduced in 2015， promoted the integration of cloud computing， big data， and internet of things to modernize manufacturing and other domestic industries.

According to data from the National Development and Reform Commission， Chinas top economic planning body， in each year since 2010， the central government has invested over 1 billion yuan toward developing the domestic cloud computing industry， amounting to over 10 billion yuan invested as of last year.

In the decade since e-commerce giant Alibaba became one of the first domestic players to tap into the market in 2009， Chinas internet giants， too， have been pouring resources into building up their cloud infrastructure services. Companies like Huawei， Tencent， and Baidu are now working feverishly to deploy their own cloud computing-based services.

Canalys estimates that Chinas cloud infrastructure services market grew 66.9% in Q4 2019， as total spend reached $3.3 billion. China represented 10.8% of the worldwide total， making it the second largest market. Alibaba Cloud remained the leading cloud service provider in Q4 2019， accounting for 46.4% of total spend. Tencent Cloud increased its share to 18.0%， while Baidu AI Cloud moved into third place with an 8.8% share.

The recent coronavirus （COVID-19） outbreak has caused chaos for the tech industry， with retail stores closing around the world， major tech conferences such as Apple WWDC， Microsoft Build， Google I/O and MWC2 turned into virtual events or canceled， and markets around the world facing massive losses as the global economy slows to a crawl.

In their bids to fight the pandemic， Chinas three major cloud providers have offered free services to government agencies， businesses， researchers， and students. Alibaba Cloud， Tencent Cloud， and Baidu AI Cloud have all opened up aspects of their platforms for free to select users， offering various services to help researchers as well as business professionals forced to shelter at home.

By setting a precedent for other major tech firms to follow， Chinese cloud giants are making social responsibility a requirement for tech giants that have the power to flatten the curve3 with a bit of corporate generosity. Heres hoping it becomes the model for future catastrophes as well.

國务院发展研究中心（DRC）在2019年10月发布的最新白皮书中概述了中国云计算行业的现状以及未来发展和应用的前景。该报告预测，到2023年，国内云计算产业规模将超过3000亿元人民币——达到其2018年市值（962.8亿元人民币）的3倍多。并且，在5年的时间内，全国60%以上的企业和政府机构将把云计算作为其日常运营不可或缺的一部分。

云计算需要使用远程服务器网络（而不是本地服务器或个人计算机）来存储、管理和处理数据。中国拥有8.54亿互联网用户，是世界上所有国家中网民人数最多的，所生成的大量数据必须安全存储并可以进行广泛的分析。与本地服务器相比，基于云的服务伸缩性更强，更加实惠和安全。

市场调查机构国际数据公司2019年的报告显示，到2021年，云计算和人工智能将使中国企业和机构组织的创新率和生产率翻一番以上（分别达到2.6倍和2.3倍）。中国在着力发展人工智能、物联网和大数据等新技术的同时也在推进产业升级，基于上述原因，云计算被认为是这一推进举措中重要的基础设施建设环节。

国务院发展研究中心国际技术经济研究所学术委员会主任宫晨光在宣布该报告的新闻发布会上表示：“环顾全球，云计算已经成为产业智能化升级的基础设施，我们应该强化政府推动，即刻行动，明确云计算发展目标……切实推动我国云计算产业高质量发展。”

中国政府已经在积极推动国内云计算行业的发展。为了实现制造业和国内其他产业的现代化，中国于2015年推出了“互联网+”战略，促进了云计算、大数据和物联网的融合。

根据中国最高经济规划部门国家发展和改革委员会的数据，自2010年以来，中央政府每年投资超过10亿元人民币用于发展国内云计算产业，截至去年已累计投资超过100亿元人民币。

2009年，电子商务巨头阿里巴巴成为首批进入云计算市场的国内参与者。此后十年，中国互联网巨头们也一直在倾注资源打造其云基础设施服务。华为、腾讯和百度等公司现在正积极部署各自基于云计算的服务。

调研机构科纳仕估计，2019年第四季度中国云基础设施服务市场规模增长了66.9%，总支出达到33亿美元。中国占全球总量的10.8%，成为第二大市场。阿里云在2019年第四季度仍然是云服务提供商的领头羊，占总支出的46.4%。腾讯云的份额增至18%，而百度智能云以8.8%的份额位列第三。

最近的新冠病毒疫情引发科技行业动荡，全球各地的零售店关闭，诸如苹果全球开发者大会、微软开发者大会、谷歌开发者大会和世界移动通信大会之类的主要技术会议转为线上虚拟活动或被直接取消，并且随着全球经济放缓，全球市场面临巨大损失。

为了抗击疫情，中国的三大云服务商已向政府机构、企业、研究人员和学生提供免费服务。阿里云、腾讯云和百度智能云均已向指定用户免费开放平台上一些功能，提供各种服务来帮助研究人员和被迫宅家的商务人士。

中国云巨头为其他大型科技公司树立可供效仿的先例，承担社会责任成为各个科技巨头对自我的一项要求，这些科技巨头有能力用企业的些微善意助推疫情防控。希望这也能成为未来应对灾难的样板。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）