A digital Beijing is not so far away, as the Chinese capital has attached great importance to develop high-level infrastructure for information networks, which the city considers a major milestone in its effort to build itself into an international metropolis.

Fan Boyuan, director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Committee, promised this during the fourth session of the 11th Beijing Municipal People's Congress.

According to Fan, Beijing has achieved a lot in the past five years as it has moved towards digitalization. The city will continue its efforts in the next five years, especially focusing on the development of related software so that more people can have access to information.

According to Fan, these efforts will bring Beijing into the "springtime" of a network era, with other related industries, such as the hardware sector, also benefiting.

This year, broadband information services are no longer the privilege of local high-tech parks, but normal in other districts, especially newly built ones.

Being able to provide broadband information will be critical for those districts wishing to be classified by the local government as "high quality" in its yearly assessment of various local office and residential districts.

All Beijing's 18 counties and districts will have computer networks of their own within the next five years, allowing for the direct transfer of paper or computer data.

Before 2006, Beijing will establish a broad-band Internet phone network that will cover the whole city.

This plan of the municipal government's has been applauded by the people's deputies, but they urged it to pay more attention to new research, management and applications.

Sun Honglie, an information technology expert from the Dongcheng District, was worried the encouragement being given by the local government to develop computer networks might result in overzealous growth and redundant construction.

The municipal government should, because only it can, take the responsibility for sorting out the existent networks and getting them to work together more so that information can be shared, taking into consideration the interests of all parties.

The municipal government should divide the five-year period into several phases and set targets for each one while maintaining a long-term goal. If this is not done, there is a danger that the efforts will lose continuity and stability.

Moreover, at present almost all the software, hardware, and network products are from overseas. It is important for Beijing not to rely so much on imports if it really wants the information industry to be a new economic growth point.
Sun also observed that Beijing had a big job to do in developing the information industry, because it still needed to finish designing the interior managerial system, establish a pricing system and impose quality supervision on the comparatively new industry.

(China Daily 02/09/01)