China Telecom 2022 Annual Work Conference Highlights

10 Jan 2022

21-23 December 2021, China Telecom held its 2022 annual work conference in Beijing. The conference summed up the work of 2021, analyzed the situation, planned for key missions in 2022, to fully implement Cloudification and Digital Transformation strategy as well as promote high-quality development of the Company. Madam Han Xia, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) attended the conference and made pronouncements. Leaders from MIIT, National Audit Office, Ministry of Finance and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) attended the conference.

Madam Han strongly acknowledged China Telecom’s achievements in 2021, introduced the industry development of information and communications in 2021, analyzed the new situation for the industry development, and delivered the message of MIIT’s development plan of information and communications in 2022. She pointed out that, China Telecom accomplished various full year work targets and made significant contributions to accelerate the building of Cyberpower and digital China over the year. Facing the challenging and complicated global environment and the severe impact of the pandemic, China Telecom conducted enormous amount of solid and effective work with remarkable results, such as significant progress in strengthening sci-tech innovation, in-depth development in cloud-network construction, distinct progress in business transformation, continuous improvement in people’s livelihood and gradual deepening in governance reform. For China Telecom’s upcoming tasks, she specified accelerations in five areas: to accelerate sci-tech innovation and promote key technologies tackling to achieve new breakthroughs; to accelerate cloud-network integration and promote new progress in infrastructure construction; to accelerate business transformation and promote new results in digital economy development; to accelerate service upgrade and promote new outcome in social responsibility implementation; to accelerate the pace of reform and promote new enhancement in corporate vitality and impetus.

Mr. Ke Ruiwen, Chairman of China Telecom, made a pronouncement titled “To Fully Implement the Strategy of Cloudification and Digital Transformation and Promote Corporate High-quality Development”, which reviewed the progress made in 2021 in terms of achieving a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, as well as the fruitful exploration and practice in promoting high-quality development of the Company. China Telecom insisted on expansion and upgrade, deepened industrial synergy, promoted co-building and co-sharing, provided highly efficient network coverage while effectively reduced costs, enhanced customer experience and strengthened open cooperation, proactively created favorable environment for development and built a mutually beneficial ecosphere; insisted on taking responsibility for implementation, refined work style, deepened reform and made solid results; insisted on the strategy of Cloudification and Digital Transformation, accelerated the construction of an intelligent and integrated digital information infrastructure of “high-speed and ubiquitous, space-earth integrated, cloud-network integrated, intelligent and agile, green and low-carbon, secure and controllable”, and promoted high-quality development. He also highlighted the current circumstances and specified requirements for key tasks in 2022.

Mr. Li Zhengmao, President of China Telecom, presented the work report at the conference, which summed up the key achievements in 2021, acknowledged accomplishments in various aspects, such as market development and service improvement, acceleration in promoting new infrastructure construction, sci-tech innovation, corporate management, caring for employees, and fulfillment of responsibility as a Central State-owned Enterprise. Mr. Li emphasized that the Company will act on macro conditions, industry trend and corporate reality to accurately identify changes, respond to them scientifically, and seek reform proactively. Mr. Li also put forward main development objectives in 2022 and planned for specific missions.

The conference stated that 2021 was a milestone year for China Telecom, with accomplishments of milestone projects such as A-share listing and construction of China Telecom Cloud, which presented a new outlook and attained new achievements; steady improvement in operational development and customer service; preliminary completion of strategic layout in areas such as sci-tech innovation, ecology and AI; deep advancement in cloud-network integration and deepening reform; shouldering responsibility as a Central State-owned Enterprise by fully demonstrating social responsibility in rural revitalization, communications security and assurance missions, and prevention and control of the pandemic. The conference held that while the pandemic impact lingers and the evolution of unprecedented global changes accelerates, the innovation of Internet, big data, cloud computing, AI, blockchain and other technologies are also speeding up. The development of the digital economy is a strategic choice to take advantage of new opportunities created by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. China Telecom is now in a strategic opportunity period with enormous potential. The Company should seek progress while maintaining stability, build on the sound momentum, fully implement the strategy of Cloudification and Digital Transformation, adhere to the customer-oriented approach, insist on innovation as driver, deepen reform and opening-up, accelerate the transformation from local breakthroughs to scale expansion, and promote high-quality development of the Company.

The conference set out major tasks in various aspects:

to vigorously promote sci-tech innovation and to continuously build a sci-tech company. The Company will accelerate key breakthroughs in R&D area, optimize the sci-tech research mechanism and build a strong talent team. The Company will also increase investment in sci-tech research resources, accelerate industrialization of results, strengthen sci-tech research eco-collaboration and increase industry clout;
to adhere to the customer-oriented principle and secure decisive victory along the new course of digital economy. The Company will solidify fundamentals, realize scale development of fundamental business, and accelerate the scale breakthrough in industrial digitalization business. The Company will also strengthen the coordination of core and supporting businesses and mutual promotion of domestic and international circulations, actively deploy the ecosystem, fully enhance customer service capability;
to accelerate the construction of the digital information infrastructure and consolidate the capability foundation of digital transformation. The Company will accelerate the construction of high-speed and ubiquitous high-quality networks, form full-service capability based on space-earth integration, construct new infrastructure with cloud-network integration and continuously enhance intelligent and agile capabilities. The Company will adhere to the green and low-carbon development model, as well as secure and controllable objectives, deepen the cooperation of co-building and co-sharing on all fronts, and accelerate the creation of an efficiently-centralized and unified digital platform;
to comprehensively deepen corporate reform and stimulate corporate vitality. The Company will firmly accomplish the Three-year Action plan for Reform of State-owned Enterprises, promote and improve the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics. The Company will also accelerate the reform of the three systems, promote the reform of government and enterprise and deepen the reform of professional enterprises as a whole;
to enhance corporate governance level and continuously improve the corporate managerial efficiency. The Company will optimize the four-in-one management system, continuously improve resource efficiency as well as industry chain and supply chain management, promote law-abiding corporate management and proactively fulfill social responsibility as a Central State-owned Enterprise;
to prevent and defuse various risks and firmly guard the bottom line of avoiding significant risks. The Company will prevent risks in investment, finance, cloud-network operation and production safety, and respond proactively to foreign-related risks, etc.