China's personal computer market has entered a period of readjustment characterized by a lower but steady growth rate since 1998, after seven previous years of rapid development, said an expert from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).

Wang Lintong, with the Computer and Micro-electric Development and Research Center under the MII, said a seminar in Beijing on December 10 that the growth period will last through 2000, with an estimated average annual growth rate of 15.5 percent.

During the 1991-1997 period, the rate for PC sales volume jumped by 56.8 percent every year.

"But the growth rate is going to slow down as the overall economic growth rate is lowering somewhat and the consumers are more rational about buying PCs," Wang said.

He said that the total number of PCs installed in the country is expected to reach 16 million by the end of this year.

This year, the total sales volume of PCs is estimated at 170 billion yuan, an increase of 14.9 percent from last year, and in 2000, the figure will increase by 17.6 percent to reach 200 billion yuan, he predicted.