It is learnt from China Information Port Forum opened Sunday in Shanghai that China has now edged into the world's top 10 information industry powers thanks to 10 years of rapid expansion. The manufacture of information products is now worth 1 trillion yuan in China, accounting for 19 percent of the GDP. Information has become the biggest pillar industry for not only coastal Guangdong Province but also for inland Shaanxi Province.
Product Value
The manufacture of information products is now worth one trillion yuan in China, accounting for 19 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the China Information Port Forum, which opened Sunday in Shanghai.
Optical Fiber
By the end of last year, China had laid 1.25 million km of optical fiber cable.
Telephone
China had 300 million telephone users, including 175 million fixed telephone users.
The country's telephone network is now the second-largest in the world.
Regional Development Fruitful Information is the biggest pillar industry for not only coastal Guangdong Province but also for inland Shaanxi Province.
Guangdong
Guangdong Province is the biggest manufacturer of electronic information products in China, with a production value of 300 billion yuan in 2000.
Shaanxi
Many Chinese regions have drafted plans to build their own information ports. Shaanxi Province alone boasts 3,000 government data banks and 16,000 commercial data banks.
China to Pour 1 Trillion Yuan in Information Industry
China is to spend one trillion yuan (US$ 120 billion) over the next five years to spur its information industry.
In a breakdown, 500 billion yuan will go for telecommunications, 50 billion yuan for post service, and 400 billion for electronic information technology, according to the meeting.
The Chinese government will make great efforts to push forward and give priority to the application of information technology as a way of boosting economic and social development.
Government will provide more channels for the investment and especially encourage direct investment from home and abroad.
( People's Daily December 10, 2001)
