The number of internet users in China has risen 28% over the past year to 87-million, and use of broadband and online commerce is soaring, the government said on Wednesday.
The number of broadband subscribers has jumped 78,7% in the past six months to 31,1-million, the China Internet Network Information Centre said on its website.
China says it already has the world’s second-biggest online population after the United States. China aggressively promotes internet use for business and education, despite an average annual income of less than $1 000 per person.
At the same time, the government tries to crush attempts to use the internet to spread criticism of communist rule, imprisoning activists for posting political material online. Censors monitor domestic websites and block access to foreign sites deemed subversive or obscene.
According to the Network Information Centre, a survey found that 58% of Chinese internet users planned to start shopping online in the coming year.
The report could be a morale boost for internet retailers who have struggled to fulfill early projections that China’s 1,3-billion people would offer a huge online marketplace.
Growth of online commerce has been held back by China’s lack of credit cards and poor delivery services. But entrepreneurs are developing new methods for online payment and distribution is improving.
The number of computers in China linked to the internet has grown to 36,3-million, the agency said.
Despite the booming growth, China’s population of internet users still accounts for only 6,7% of the population, just over half the world average of 12,2%, the agency said. ‒ Sapa-AP