BEIJING - The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital economy in restoring economic and social development, creating more jobs and improving people's well-being, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

Li make the remarks in a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony of the 2020 China-ASEAN Year of Digital Economy Cooperation (DEC).

In his message, Li said China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are friendly neighbors and important partners. The rapid development of the digital economy nowadays is profoundly reshaping the landscapes of world economy and human society.

Noting that he and leaders of ASEAN countries designated 2020 as the China-ASEAN Year of DEC last year, Li said that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the importance of digital economy further highlighted in restoring economic and social development, creating more jobs and improving people's well-being.

Li expressed the hope that China and ASEAN can take the China-ASEAN Year of DEC as an opportunity and make good use of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation.

The two sides should also tap complementary advantages, focus on win-win cooperation, and cultivate more new growth points for cooperation in such industrial areas as smart city, artificial intelligence and big data, so as to build stronger drivers for their economic and social development and inject fresh energy for realizing lasting stability and prosperity in the region, he added.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, whose country chairs the ASEAN rotating presidency, also sent a congratulatory letter to the opening ceremony.