China's digital economy reached 16 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) in the first six months of 2018, accounting for 38.2 percent of the country's overall GDP growth, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Lu Chuncong, director of the academy, said despite booming growth, China's digital economy suffers from unbalanced and inadequate development. Data shows that in 2017 the province with the biggest digital economy was 64 times the size of the most underdeveloped province.

Lu added the service sector has undergone the biggest digital transformation in China, but that the industrial and agricultural sectors have been less affected by the inevitable trend.

Development of the digital economy is listed as an important task for building a modern economic system in China and achieving high-quality development. In 2017, the country's digital economy hit 27.2 trillion yuan, 32.9 percent of the country's total GDP growth.

The academy's research showed that the United States is far ahead of other G20 countries in digital economy development, with the second tier comprised of China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and South Korea, followed by third-tier countries including India, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa.