According to a survey of 300 key enterprises by the State Economic and Trade Commission, 70% of the enterprises said that they have not invested enough in information technology (IT). At the end of 1998, investments in IT facilities only accounted for 0.3% of the 300 companies¡¯ total investment. By comparison, most large enterprises in developed countries spend 8-10% of their total investments in IT.

Also, 62% of the enterprises felt that they lacked skilled IT workers.

The survey also revealed that 70% of the enterprises have already gone online, but most of them only have a web page and email, not utilizing the Internet¡¯s full potential such as delving into online commerce.

To spur China¡¯s enterprises into embracing IT, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Information Industry and the Ministry of Science and Technology have joined hands to organize the Enterprise Information Project and increase the awareness of the importance and urgency of IT.