China is going to propel the growth of its e-book industry, according to an instruction from the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP).

The GAPP released the instruction on its website Sunday.

China's e-book industry has boomed in recent years but problems have surfaced, the GAPP said.

The problems include weak protection of intellectual property rights, a lack of industry-wide standards, and a dearth of domestically-produced reading material.

In 2009, the number of e-books sold in China reached 3.82 million, and that in the first half of 2010 amounted to over 20 percent of the world's total and was second only to the United States.

The instruction outlined tasks for the promotion of the e-book industry.

The tasks included: establishing a pool of reading material for e-books; the nurturing of big e-book brands; and improving the quality of the digital transformation of traditional publications.

According to the instruction, China will set up national standards for e-books relating to format, quality and copyright.

The instruction also proposes tightening market access to the industry by classifying e-book-related businesses as either content producers, hardware makers, e-book retailers and wholesalers, or e-book importers, to regulate the business appropriately.

The instruction also proposes supporting the e-book industry by improving IPR protection and stepping up market regulation.