Internet Business Faces Wonderful Opportunities in China: Minister

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Internet Business Faces Wonderful Opportunities in China: Minister

The central government will push for the development of Chinese language software, information resources and data bases so the nation better uses the Internet. By the end of September this year, China had 54.35 million Internet users, with 20.56 million computers connected to the Internet.

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China's fledgling Internet business is stepping into a new developmental stage full of wonderful opportunities, according to Information Industry Minister Wu Jichuan.

Wu made the remark at the first China Internet Conference, which opened Monday in Shanghai and will run for three days.

The central government will push for the development of Chinese language software, information resources and data bases so the nation better uses the Internet, the minister said.

Wu said the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which concluded recently, proposed that "it is necessary to persist in using IT to propel industrialization, which will, in turn, stimulate IT application." The congress emphasized China "must give priority to the development of the information industry and apply IT in all areas of economic and social development." These policies are bound to accelerate economic growth and IT application across the whole society, according to Wu.

There are more than 54 million Internet users in China and official statistics show the number of computers connected to the Internet has climbed to about 20.5 million, with officially-registered websites hitting about 82,000.

The Ministry of Information Industry predicts the sales volume of software and information services in China will total 300 billion yuan (US$36.5 billion) by 2005, with an annual growth rate of over 30 percent.

He noted the development of the Internet in China was beset with some problems, citing its impact on traditional Chinese culture due to a lack of online resources based on the Chinese language, the imperfect net and information security systems, and moral hazards.

In this respect, Wu called for efforts to develop Chinese-language-based information resources, software and databanks and to improve awareness of information security.

Wu said representative Chinese classics and archives should be digitalized and the best of Chinese and foreign cultures and modern science and technology should be spread through the Internet to make it an important front for advanced culture.

According to Wu, the most important of all is that the government should help build a complete Internet sector industry chain, connecting the net-economy closely to traditional industries. Companies should set up effective business models using Internet.

Wu said while enhancing the public awareness of protecting computers from viruses, the government will frame an efficient and reliable information security system covering the country that is based on the results of local research and development.

Su Jinsheng, director general of the ministry's Telecommunication Administration Bureau, said it will take measures to assure the security of online transactions, boosting the benefits generated by the Internet.

The ministry will also aid further expansion of the market demand for the Internet and related businesses.

"We should also establish regulations and rules for the Internet and related businesses, ensuring the whole sector develops in a healthy and sustainable way,'' Wu said.

Liu He, vice-director of the National Informatization Office, said the government will amendlaws to better protect the intellectual property rights of all companies in the sector.

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