China's Telecom Full of Vigor after RegroupingNew progress has been made by China in telecom industry, as is known from a press conference called lately by the Information Office of the State Council.By last September, telephone users in China numbered as many as over 200 million to show a popularization rate of 17.7% or a breakdown: fixed urban phones 38%, mobile phones 5.1%. Countrywide information nets backed by public networks involving finance, Customs, taxation and economic trade amount to 108 and notable advance has been made in building online projects by government departments, institutions, enterprises and individuals as well. Countries and regions having contacts online with China total 71 and there are already 59 of these having international mobile phone roam service provided. "It is the result of the state's industrial policy introduced, twenty years' development and reform efforts made since 1998 for separating business from government administration, post from telecom services and telecom regrouping", said Wu Jichuan, minister of the Ministry of Information Industry. A series of strategic reforms have been introduced in China's telecom industry following the principle of developing a market economy in recent two years. Run with 1.2 million workers under 60,000 sale branches and over RMB$600 billion yuan worth of assets, it has turned out to be the biggest and most difficult one to be revamped. As things stand in today's China, a competitive telecom market has been initially formed. Following a unified state plan, the former China Telecom has been regrouped into four independent companies, dealing in fixed telephone, mobile phone, satellite and paging service respectively. China Unicom, China Netcom, Jitong Network Communications and many other large, medium- and small-sized enterprises and networks have also got revamped or regrouped, hence a forceful growth of telecom industry in China. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |