SHIJIAZHUANG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, has been chosen as the permanent site for the China International Digital Economy Expo (CIDEE), the provincial commerce department said Wednesday.

Approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, the expo will be hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Hebei provincial government annually in Shijiazhuang starting in 2019.

Hebei is currently tasked with building Xiongan New Area and preparing for the 2022 winter Olympics.

The CIDEE will become an important platform for cooperation to promote digital manufacturing, data analysis and application and explore laws governing digital economy development, according to the commerce department.