Digital and Intelligent Economy Forum Unveils '5A Framework' for Corporate AI Adoption

On August 12, 2026, the 2026 Digital and Intelligent Economy Forum convened in Langfang, Hebei Province, bringing together central and local officials, industry representatives, and academic experts. Organised by People's Daily Culture and Technology Co., Ltd., the forum launched the '5A Framework' to guide enterprise intelligent transformation. The framework outlines strategic directions across five dimensions: agent-to-agent (A2A) business models, AI-friendly data infrastructure, AI-native workforce restructuring, value-guided governance, and global AI inclusiveness.

As artificial intelligence shifts from standalone tools to interconnected multi-agent networks, corporate digital transformation demands updated technical and organizational standards. The introduction of the 5A Framework reflects how state-backed digital and media entities in China are framing structural readiness—prioritizing machine-optimized data architectures, workforce restructuring around digital assistants, and ethical governance to steer industrial and public-sector AI deployment.

On August 12, 2026, representatives from central and local Chinese government agencies, industry associations, enterprises, and academic institutions gathered in Langfang, Hebei Province, for the 2026 Digital and Intelligent Economy Forum, according to reports by People's Daily. Held under the theme of gathering new momentum through data and charting new blueprints through intelligence, the forum focused on practical applications of digital and intelligent technologies across industries. During the event, People's Daily Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. officially released the '5A Framework,' a strategic outline aimed at supporting enterprise transformation in the artificial intelligence era. The 5A Framework details five key pillars for corporate adoption: 1. Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Ecosystems: Moving beyond traditional Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer models, the framework calls for building interoperable AI agent networks. The report notes projections that China could eventually develop an ecosystem of tens of billions of AI agents, amid a global digital population reaching 100 billion. Establishing unified data, technical, interface, and service standards is highlighted as essential for seamless agent interaction. 2. AI-Friendly Data Infrastructure: Recognizing that current web interfaces are primarily designed for human reading, the framework advocates constructing machine-readable data architectures. This involves structuring content into knowledge graphs and combining high-performance compute architecture with AI-optimized data systems. 3. AI-Native Teams: To adapt organizational structures to AI workflows, the framework encourages redefining roles so that individual employees manage multiple digital assistants, effectively encapsulating professional expertise into reusable digital assets to elevate per-capita productivity. 4. AI Values and Governance: Emphasizing a human-centric approach, the framework highlights the importance of ethical alignment and using AI to govern AI. The initiative references the 'Mainstream Value Corpus' launched by People's Daily in May 2023, which has reportedly been scaled up and validated across multiple large language model applications. 5. AI Inclusiveness: The framework urges broader participation in global AI equity initiatives to bridge digital divides and prevent AI technology from being limited to wealthy nations or individuals. Additionally, forum participants emphasized treating innovation as the primary driver and safety as a foundational baseline. Attendees called for extending digital and intelligent solutions to public services, eldercare, and healthcare to address existing digital shortcomings and support socio-economic development.