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More Chinese Have Access to Telephones
One in four Chinese now possess a telephone, a former household luxury in China some forty years ago, said Lu Xinkui, deputy minister of information industry, at the Western Forum being held Wednesday in Xi'an.
Lu said that China's telecommunication industry witnessed robust growth over the first half of the year. The number of telephone users totals 281 million, including 164 million fixed telephone users and 117 million mobile phone users. There are now 9.2 mobile phones for every one hundred Chinese.
At present, 83 percent of Chinese villages have access to telephone services.
Statistics show that the production value of China's information industry has maintained an average annual growth rate of 25 percent over the past 10 years. In 2000 alone, the industry accounted for four percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP).
In the five years up to 2005, the information industry will work to keep an average annual growth rate of more than 20 percent, and double its sales and export earnings, the official said.
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