China becomes world’s largest internet market
By John Lister
The number of Chinese people with internet access has risen by more than 50% in the past year, taking the country ahead of the United States for the first time.
China hit the number one spot despite the fact that only 19.1% of the country’s population is online. That compares with 71% in the US. Analysts forecast continued growth, to the point that by 2012 the number of Chinese internet users could be more than the entire US population.
The figures come from the China Internet Network Information Center, a government agency responsible for services such as managing the country’s domain name system.
While internet business revenues are rising pretty much in line with the increased audience, China’s commercial use of the internet remains far behind the US. The Associated Press cites statistics showing Chinese internet firms raked in $5.9 billion in total revenue last year, compared with $21.2 billion in US ad revenue alone.
It appears the Chinese growth is partly to do with growing use of mobile phones. With less demand for traditional telephone lines, phone companies are putting more efforts into promoting broadband services.
There may be another leap in internet business once 3G technology gets a Chinese launch. There are some 3G services appearing in major cities, but there’s no firm date for a national rollout. Already 29% of Chinese internet users are accessing the net through their cellphones.
The growth comes despite harsh government censorship and control of the internet. National laws allow the forced closure of any site offering pornography, violence or any material deemed a threat to national security. This has been used to silence pro-democracy dissidents.
Even where sites aren’t formally banned, the government still exercises some controls. Back in May it persuaded all entertainment sites to shut down for three days in the aftermath of a major earthquake.
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