This is a speech delivered by Cai Mingzhao, vice minister of the CPCCC‘s Publicity Department, at the Third US-China Internet Industry Forum in San Francisco on December 10, 2009.    – The editor

Earlier this year, I suggested to Mr. Mundie that we hold the Third US-China Internet Industry Forum in San Francisco. The city is of special significance, as it is the closest city in the continental US to China. Furthermore, many Internet technologies have originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. I really appreciate the fact that my old friend took me up on this idea. I also want to thank Microsoft Corporation for carefully arranging this meeting.

We have held the US-China Internet Industry Forum twice, first in Seattle and then in Shanghai last year. This way of discussion and exchange of views has not only benefited the Internet industries in both China and the US, but it has also generated wide interest in the international community. I believe this year's meeting will play an active role in promoting in-depth exchanges and cooperation between the Internet industries of both countries.

When the global financial crisis began during the second half of last year, there were worries that China's Internet industry would be hit hard. Fortunately, it has survived and maintained its rapid growth in this severely cold "winter" of the world economy, highlighting the great vitality of the Internet.

Within the past year, Chinese Internet users have increased by 90 million, reaching a total of 380 million users. That figure accounts for some 30 percent of China's total population, a figure higher than the world average. Such development has laid a solid foundation for further growth of the Internet market in China.

A survey by China's Ministry of Commerce shows that the small and medium-sized businesses providing e-commerce services survived the crisis better than traditional businesses. Whereas 84.2 percent of traditional businesses experienced operation difficulties, only 16.8 percent of those conducting e-commerce had the same problems. It has been forecast that China's e-commerce turnover in 2009 will top 4 trillion yuan at a high growth rate of some 40 percent. It is becoming increasingly clear that e-commerce is facilitating the transformation of China's economic development mode.

With Internet businesses constantly emerging and the widespread adoption of new Internet technology, China's Internet industry is full of vitality. New applications and services such as video sharing, social networking and using mobile phones to access the Internet have been well-received by Internet users and are developing steadily. 3G networks have now entered the phase of commercialized application, leading to a steady growth of wireless Internet subscribers. China has more than 200 million mobile phone subscribers who access the Internet via their mobile phones, an almost 100 percent increase from the 2008 figure. 3G networks are generating a new wave of business-building in China's Internet industry.

China was connected to the Internet in 1994. After 15 years of development, the Internet is now a significant tool not only in economic activities, but also in people's daily lives. It is a new medium possessing great influence and an important engine driving economic development. In today's China, more and more people are accessing the Web to acquire information and knowledge, start a business, or voice their views and complaints. Likewise, more and more government departments are using the Internet to collect public opinions and formulate public policies. The Internet's impact on various aspects of social life is profound: it's now a new lifestyle and a new work style as well.