China recorded an increase in digital economy output value from 11 trillion yuan to 50.2 trillion yuan from 2012 to 2022, according to the two blue books "World Internet Development Report 2023" and "China Internet Development Report 2023" that were released at the 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit.
The report shows that in the past decade, China has achieved leapfrog improvement in its cyberspace infrastructure, with nearly 40-fold increase in the broadband download speed on the average and the development of mobile communication network from 3G to 5G so that the world's largest 5G network has been built.
As of September this year, China has built 3.189 million 5G base stations, with 737 million 5G mobile phone users and a gigabit optical network capable of covering over 500 million households.
From December 2012 to June 2023, China recorded an increase in the number of netizens from 564 million to 1.079 billion. As of June this year, 60.5% of the rural areas have gained access to the internet, ensuring innovative development of new models such as live streaming e-commerce.
The reports show that digital technology has innovated consumer scenarios, resulting in eye-catching online sales performance. In the first three quarters, China recorded an online retail sales volume of 10.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.6%.
At present, China has recorded 3000 internet hospitals and provided over 25.9 million internet diagnosis and treatment services. As of June this year, China had recorded a total of 364 million internet medical users, accounting for 33.8% of the total number of netizens, ensuring more convenient, efficient, and high-quality medical services.
The reports show that China is accelerating the pace of technological self-reliance and self-improvement in the field of online communication. Over the past decade, digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum information have become the top tier of global technological innovation.
“China has continuously achieved high-level original achievements in the field of quantum technology. The independently developed Beidou satellite system has completed global networking and serves users in over 200 countries and regions worldwide. The ‘China's Beidou’ has become the ‘world's Beidou’,” said Xia Xue ping, President of China Academy of Cyberspace Research.
China has continuously improved its internet security system and capabilities by significantly improving the top-level design of cyber security over the past decade with the continuous improvement of the protection level of key information infrastructure in important industries and fields such as energy, transportation, finance, and public services.
