Beijing – China’s Internet users — already by far the
world’s most numerous — rose to nearly 700 million last year, authorities said
Friday, more than twice the population of the United States.
Beijing imposes strict controls on online content, while
e-commerce is a vital part of its efforts to transform the economy into one driven
more by consumer demand.
The Asian giant’s Internet population — defined as those who
have gone online at least once in the past six months — stood at 688 million at
the end of 2015, up 39.5 million year-on-year, according to the government’s
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
The figure accounts for more than half the people in the world’s most populous country.More than 90% had gone online through their mobile phones, CNNIC reported, while two-thirds had used desktop computers and nearly 40% laptops.
Several Chinese tech firms, led by Jack Ma’s Alibaba, have
become multi-billion-dollar giants in recent years as the country’s online
population has boomed.
At the same time Beijing blocks websites it deems
politically sensitive in a system dubbed the “Great Firewall of China”, and
social media companies censor user
generated content.
generated content.
Source: – AFP
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