China rocketing on information superhighway

The information superhighway has been stretching across China from the metropolises to the rural countryside since the incumbent leadership of the Communist Party of China took office in 2012.

A series of strategies, such as Broadband China, Internet Plus and Facilitating Faster and More Affordable Internet Connection have fostered a more optimized internet infrastructure in China, which has supported the development of various network innovation modes.

Having evolved from a follower to a leader on the information superhighway, China has the following inspiring achievements related to the internet to offer to the world. Let's take a look.

Children in Yongji, North China's Shanxi province, play with tablets on Nov 11, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

1. World's leading broadband penetration rate

The number of China's broadband users reached 315 million as of April, 79 percent or 250 million of which are optical broadband users, the highest proportion in the world, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The government is using the "telecom universal service" to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas on the information superhighway. In 2016, more than 30 billion yuan were invested on two batches of broadband universal service pilots to support the launch and upgrading of optical fibers in 100,000 administrative villages of 27 provincial areas.