The digital economy in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region registered a 10-percent growth year on year in 2020, contributing 26 percent to the region's annual gross domestic product (GDP), local authorities said on Thursday.

The growth was mainly driven by the construction of new infrastructure projects, such as the Xinjiang Software Park, and the rapid expansion of the 5G+ Industrial Internet last year, according to the regional government's department of industry and information technology.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Xinjiang's digital economy maintained an average annual double-digit growth. Currently, 6,272 5G base stations are operating, with 2.75 million 5G users.

The region has applied the Industrial Internet in more than 20 key industries such as new energy, oil and gas exploitation, electricity, and equipment manufacturing.

In 2021, Xinjiang will accelerate industrial digitalization and digital industrialization to promote key-industry integration. These include the energy and chemical, textile and clothing, machinery and equipment, and mining industries, said the department. Enditem