Wu told a Fortune Global Forum roundtable that China already has a sizable information market, with its telephone users reaching 230 million, or 20.1 percent of the total population, by the end of 2000.

While there were 85 million mobile phone subscribers by the end of 2000, the figure is now more than 100 million, Wu said.

By the end of 2000, Internet users reached 22.5 million and the production of electronics manufacturing industry exceeded one trillion RMB (US$ 122 billion), with export reaching more than US$ 54 billion , according to Wu.

Wu noted that China's information industry's structure has been rationalized and expanded, and the industry has become the largest industry sector in China.

In the next five years, Wu predicted that China's fixed and mobile phone network will also be doubled, with the total number of subscribers reaching 500 million. And the national telephone penetration rate will reach 40 percent, he said.

Wu also foresaw that in terms of technology, advanced telecommunication technologies, including 3G mobile communications, will employ voice telecommunication, video and data communications in China.

To facilitate China's information industry's development, Wu promised to establish rationalized telecommunication regulations and regulatory system in China.

Noting that digital divide is an inevitable result of imbalance in economic development, he called on the developed countries with advance technologies to relax restrictions placed on technology transfer and assist the developing countries to improve its technology.

(People's Daily 05/09/2001)