The number of China's telephone users increased by 51.67 million in the first half of this year, leading the total number to 281 million, according to statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry, released on Tuesday.
The number of fixed phone users increased by 20 million, bringing the total number to 164 million, while the number of mobile phone users increased by 31 million to reach 117 million.
The ministry attributed the growth to the efforts of telecommunications operators in tapping the market and improving services.
By June, every 100 people in China had 24.4 telephones, up from 20.1 in the beginning of this year, said the statistics.
(Xinhua News Agency 07/17/2001)
