The digital economy’s share in China's GDP rose from 21.6% to 39.8% between 2012 and 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology data states, as per state media resources.
The country’s digital economy increased from 11 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) in 2012 to just over 45 trillion yuan ($6.72 trillion) in 2021, official data has shown.
By May end, China had constructed the world's largest and technologically advanced network facilities, covering prefecture-level cities with fiber-optic networks and providing 1.7 million 5G base stations.
In 2021, the value-added output of major electronic information manufacturers rose 15.7% year on year (YoY), a record high in a decade, while the revenues of software and information technology services including internet and related services also registered double-digit growth, according to the Ministry.
Telecom sector expansion in January-May 2022
China's telecommunication industry recorded steady growth in the first five months of the year, with strong expansion in emerging businesses and 5G services.
The telecom sector raked in 665 billion yuan ($99.46 billion) in total revenue during the period, up 8.5% YoY .
Rapid process has been demonstrated in the use of big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence within such sectors as energy, medical care, transportation, education and agriculture.
The combined revenue of the emerging businesses of China's three telecom giants –China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom – rose 34.3% YoY to 128.3 billion yuan, representing 19.3% of the sector's total revenue, the Ministry noted.
At the end of May, China had 1.7 million 5G base stations, accounting for 16.7% of the country's mobile network base stations. Some 275,000 5G base stations were built in the first five months of the year.
The data also shows that 5G mobile phone users of the three telecom giants reached 428 million at the end of May, representing 25.8% of China's total mobile phone users.