IT Expansion Means New Jobs, More Exports for ChinaThe output of the IT industry is expected to make up more than 7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in China in the next five years, according to a government forecast.The State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) said in a special plan that China will expand the size of its information and telecommunication network to become the largest in the world by 2005. According to the special plan for upgrading the economy and social life with information technology, the country will have more than 70 million computers in 2005. The plan predicts that 40 percent of Chinese households will have telephones and over 95 percent of them will have access to TV and radio in five years. The plan said that the Chinese government will attach top priority to the development of the economy and society through application of information technology. In the next five years, the output of IT service industries will grow by more than 30 percent annually. In the same time, the number of Internet users will increase to over 8 percent of the population. According to the plan, the output of information product manufacturing will make up 3 percent of the GDP in 2005. The exports of information products are expected to grow at an annual rate of 15 percent in the next five years, occupying a larger share of the international market. Meanwhile, application of information technology in the fields of education, public health, social security and public service will help enhance the quality of the Chinese people. As average Chinese families are expected to spend a larger part of their income on information consumption, the penetration of information technology into all aspects of people's life is to bring about 20 million new job opportunities in the next five years, the plan said. |
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