Zhonghongwang.com:

The high-quality development of the ICT industry has effectively generated vigor for the development of the digital economy. We have seen that the ICT industry achieved relatively rapid growth in the first quarter. What are the specific highlights and achievements? Thank you.

Zhao Zhiguo:

Thank you for your question. In the first quarter, we thoroughly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, and pushed the high-quality development of the ICT industry to new heights.

First, the momentum is strong and steady progress has been made in the development of the industry. Emerging businesses have developed rapidly, with the revenue of businesses such as internet data centers, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things increasing by 24.5% year on year, driving the growth of telecommunications services revenue by 4.8 percentage points and gradually becoming a new growth driver for the ICT industry. Telecommunications services revenue grew steadily, with total revenue reaching 425.2 billion yuan in the first quarter, up 7.7% year on year. Furthermore, the total business volume of telecommunications services increased by 18% year on year. The overall performance of the ICT industry has demonstrated sound momentum.

Second, the foundation is more solid and cyber capacity continues to be enhanced. Network infrastructure has been improved. As of the end of March, more than 2.64 million 5G base stations have been built and over 17.93 million network ports can provide gigabit network services, meaning that "the gigabit optical network covers every city" and "every county can access 5G services." A supply system of computing power with gradient optimization has been primarily established. The total computing power has developed rapidly. China's total computing power scale now ranks second globally, with an annual growth rate of nearly 30%. The development of IPv6 has been advanced. IPv6 has developed from being usable to being able to provide good services. The data traffic of IPv6 surpassed IPv4 for the first time, accounting for over 50% of mobile network traffic, bringing in an era of the internet predominated by IPv6-based networks.

Third, the application is wider and access to high-speed businesses has been accelerated. The scale of connection has continued to increase. As of the end of March, the number of 5G mobile phone users has reached 620 million and the number of gigabit optical networks users has surpassed 100 million. The number of mobile Internet of Things users totals 1.984 billion, with 53.8% of "things" connected to the mobile internet. The foundation for the development of a world where all things are connected has been consolidated. Integrated applications have been advanced and 5G has been applied in 52 national economic categories. There have been over 50,000 cases of applying "dual-gigabit" infrastructure nationwide, featuring a 5G network and a gigabit optical network. And the mobile Internet of Things has been applied on a large scale in the construction of digital cities, smart transportation, mobile payments, and other areas.

Fourth, the experience and accessibility of convenient user services have been improved. Universal telecommunications services have been further promoted. Internet coverage in rural and remote areas has continued to be improved. The application of the 5G network in rural areas has been advanced. All these have provided strong support for the rural revitalization strategy. The sense of gains for users has been improved. In the first quarter, the download rates of mobile and fixed broadband networks have increased by 59.9% and 15.1% year on year, respectively. Rates for mobile internet services have dropped. Capacities for information accessibility have been enhanced. Progress has been made in improving internet applications for the convenience of senior citizens. We have also guided the promotion of a variety of excellent cases of improvements to mainstream websites and mobile phone apps nationwide.

Going forward, we will prioritize working in the following three areas to promote the development of the ICT sector and provide solid support for advancing high-quality economic and social development.

First, we will consolidate the development of digital infrastructure. We will introduce policies and initiatives to advance the coordinated development of the building of new information infrastructure, advance the infrastructure construction of broadband access services in border regions, expand the coverage of gigabit optical networks, promote cloud-network integration to strengthen information infrastructure in small- and medium-sized cities and advance the high-quality development of the mobile IoT. With all these efforts, we will advance the construction of new information infrastructure in an integrated way. 

Second, we will accelerate technological and industrial innovation. We will promote breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, including 6G, optical communications, and quantum communications, and research frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital twins. We will break through the bottleneck of core technologies in key fields to enhance resilience and security in industrial and supply chains.

Third, we will promote integrated applications across sectors. We will advance integrated applications of new-generation ICT such as 5G and gigabit optical networks in vertical industries, information consumption and areas that are important to people's lives and promote the large-scale application of the industrial internet. We will develop a demonstration model for innovative applications in key areas. By doing so, we will contribute to the digitalization of industries. Thank you.