China Unicom, the country's major telecommunications operator, and Tencent Holdings, a leading internet firm, have officially set up a joint venture to better tap into the opportunities of the digital economy.

The new JV, roughly translated as Yunzhou Times Technology Co Ltd, was officially established in Beijing last week, China Unicom said on Thursday. The move came after the State Administration for Market Regulation approved the venture capital arms of China Unicom and Tencent to establish the JV in October. The new venture will focus on content distribution and edge computing, and help accelerate the development of services such as digital governance and artificial intelligence.