IT key to economic future: State Council

More efforts are needed to boost domestic information-sector consumption and make the industry a new driver of economic growth, according to guidance from the State Council issued on Wednesday.

Promoting the consumption of information - a field that involves e-commerce, the Internet and cloud computing technology - can effectively drive demand, create new sources of economic growth and help consumption upgrading, said the document posted on the central government's website.

China aims to boost public-sector and household spending on the IT industry by more than 20 percent annually through 2015, the document noted.

By that year, which is the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, information consumption volume will exceed 3.2 trillion yuan ($522 billion) and create 1.2 trillion yuan worth of output for related industries.

Information consumption based on Internet-related products and services is expected to grow faster than the sector as a whole, with annual expansion of 30 percent. The sector will reach a scale of 2.4 trillion yuan two years from now.

The e-commerce market will maintain its rapid development momentum. By 2015, e-commerce transactions are forecast to total 18 trillion yuan, with online retail transactions reaching 3 trillion yuan.

First-half revenue for the e-commerce sector grew 45.3 percent year-on-year to 4.98 trillion yuan, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. During the period, consumption of information products and services jumped 20.7 percent to 2.07 trillion yuan.

Industry and Information Technology Vice-Minister Shang Bing said that information consumption is reinvigorating the economy and boosting domestic demand.

However, the country still needs to improve its broadband facilities and services and step up Internet innovation, Shang said.