China's digital economy has been growing at an average annual rate of over 17 percent since 2016, while the rate for ASEAN topped over 34 percent, Chinese Xinhua News Agency cited the white paper as saying.

This year will mark a new outset for China-ASEAN cooperation in the digital economy, it said.

The two sides will make an action plan for 2021-2025 this year to realise cooperation in this respect, the white paper said.

Key areas of cooperation between China and ASEAN in recent years include smart cities, e-commerce and cyberspace governance. Both sides have also joined hands in advancing digital technology in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The digital markets in China and ASEAN spell enormous consumption potential since their total netizen population neared a whopping 1.49 billion in 2020, according to the white paper./.

VNA