By Greg Gao

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s subsidiary Jingdong City (Beijing) Digital Technology won the bid for the new smart city Phase I project in Datong City in northern China’s Shanxi Province with a project value of RMB94.6631 million($14.84 million), the company announced April 13.

The intelligent city project is divided into two bidding phases. Phase 1 is the construction and implementation of the digital base, including the relevant platforms, applications, and hardware equipment in the field of urban governance, as well as platforms in the field of residents’ public services. Phase 2 is for project supervision.

Jingdong City (Beijing) Digital Technology focuses on products and services for intelligent cities with AI and big data technologies. 

With the continuously improved digitalization level in China, many cities have set their sights on the construction of smart cities. With abundant scenarios and applications of smart cities, various Chinese cities have significantly different directions, according to the company. 

The gradual maturity of AI and Internet of Things technologies enable many cities to improve their governance systems and capabilities. The degree of urban intelligence will become an essential indicator of urban development level and core competitiveness in China.