China Telecom, the country's telecommunications giant, proved itself to be one of the plans greater beneficiaries after the central government's year-long attempts to stimulate domestic demand, according to recent reports of Business Weekly.

China Telecom earned 145.5 billion yuan (US$17.5 billion) last year, up 11.9 per cent from the previous year's total sales. Its total revenue for fixed-line units was 147 billion yuan (US$17.7 billion), an increase of 11.5 per cent compared with 1998.

Analysts said that the figures were amazing when compared to earnings of other industries last year.

According to reports, the length of the country's long-distance optical cable was extended to 213,000 kilometers by the end of last year.

Local switching capacities and long-distance automatic switching capacities has rose to 158 million units and 4.93 million ports.

The report also mapped out the major tasks facing China Telecom including reforms, enterprises restructuring, and improvements in operating mechanisms, management, and the promotion of efficiency.