Sun Xiaolei, partner and vice president of Waterdrop Inc, shared her insights in an interview on the sidelines of the 2026 World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum — highlighting that digital technology has greatly improved the accessibility of critical illness assistance.

She noted that digital technology, powered by mobile internet and artificial intelligence technologies, enables people in remote areas to gain easier access to comprehensive and reliable channels for critical illness assistance and to choose full-cycle protection plans at lower costs.

The application of digital technology is helping address long-standing pain points in critical illness assistance such as isolated information, single-channel support and lengthy procedures, she added.

The World Internet Conference (WIC) was established as an international organization on July 12, 2022, headquartered in Beijing, China. It was jointly initiated by Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT), China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), Alibaba Group, Tencent, and Zhijiang Lab.