China ICT (Info Communications Technology) Industry, Infra, Commerce, Exports: News & Discussions

[TaiShang]

China Pursues "Internet Plus" Strategy

China is pursuing an "Internet Plus" action plan that seeks to drive economic growth by integration of Internet technologies with manufacturing and business, according to a government work report issued at the National People's Congress.

Speaking at the March 5 opening meeting of the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang spoke of the "Internet Plus" concept in his 2015 Government Work Report. According to Premier Li's report, "Internet Plus" entails integration of mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and Internet of Things with modern manufacturing, fostering new industries and business development, including e-commerce, industrial Internet and Internet finance.

The aim of the plan is to promote innovation-driven development and upgrade China from being a "big industrial country" to a "powerful industrial country", a goal often seen in recent Chinese government policy pronouncements. In his report, Premier Li also mentioned the policy goals of three network convergence, accelerating fiber optic network construction, improving broadband speed and promoting information consumption.

The 2015 National People's Congress Session in Beijing is being held from March 5-15. This year's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference runs from March 3-13.

over the last 20 years, China's annual GDP growth created by ICT investment was already significantly higher than any other major industrial or BRIC economy. For example, it was two-thirds higher than that of the U.S., over twice that of Germany and three times that of Japan.

**

Board for startup technology firms ready to open
Shanghai Daily, June 8, 2015

A new board for startup high-tech firms will debut on the Shanghai Equity Exchange on June 26, the city's latest move to support entrepreneurship and innovation, Shanghai Daily has learned.

More than 50 firms, including many based in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in the Pudong New Area, are expected to be the first group of companies on the Tech Innovation Board, industry sources from Zhangjiang park told Shanghai Daily.

Usually such boards allow unlisted high-tech firms to trade assets, including shares, through the exchange. It helps such firms receive funding, which can be difficult through banks and other traditional channels.

The Tech Innovation Board is expected to encourage entrepreneurs and talents to develop their ideas.

The board was given the go-ahead after Shanghai Financial Service Office, the city's top finance regulator, signed an agreement with the Pudong government last month.

The entry criteria of the new board includes net assets of more than 3 million yuan (US$484,000), a sustainable business model and a clear share structure, Zhangjiang officials said.

The A-share main boards on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges require much higher standards, including having a net profit for three straight years. The profit over this period needs to be at least 30 million yuan. Such requirements are difficult for startup firms to meet.

"Shanghai is establishing itself as a global technology and innovation center. The new board will fuel the high-tech development and economy," said Zheng Yang, head of Shanghai Financial Service Office.

Analysts said Shanghai is often regarded as having a lack of entrepreneurship compared with Beijing and Shenzhen. The Tech Innovation Board is expected to change it, they said.

Meanwhile, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park aims to double a government-backed angel investment fund to 200 million yuan annually, probably beginning next year, said Jin Ying, deputy director of the Zhangjiang Innopark Administrative Committee.

Other methods to boost innovation in the park include flexible policies to attract high-end talents from home and abroad.

Expatriates working in Zhangjiang will be allowed to start their own business and leave and enter the Chinese mainland more easily.

 

[cirr]

China unveils "Internet Plus" action plan to fuel growth

English.news.cn 2015-07-04

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday unveiled its "Internet Plus" action plan, aiming to integrate the Internet with traditional industries, and fuel economic growth.

The Internet Plus concept was first presented by Premier Li Keqiang in March this year when delivering the government work report.

The action plan will integrate mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing, to encourage the healthy development of e-commerce, industrial networks, and Internet banking, and to help Internet companies increase their international presence, Li said.

The campaign will be very important to creating a new engine for economic growth, said Premier Li.

According to the action plan, China will push forward the integration of the Internet and traditional industries, fueling its expansion from consumption industries to manufacturing.

The action plan maps development targets and supportive measures for key sectors, which the government hopes can establish new industrial modes, including mass entrepreneurship and innovation, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, finance, public services, logistics, e-commerce, traffic, biology and artificial intelligence.

"The government aims to further deepen the integration of the Internet with the economic and social sectors, making new industrial modes a main driving force of growth by 2018," according to the action plan.

By 2025, Internet Plus will become a new economic model and an important driving force for economic and social innovation and development.

To this end, "China will solidify its development basis by promoting Internet technology, infrastructure, [while] tackling the technological bottlenecks of industries and strengthening risk control."

The government will add impetus to innovation. Enterprises will be encouraged to set up platforms and weaving networks for innovation. Industrial standards will be formulated for the integration of Internet and industries, while intellectual property rights will be protected.

China will clear barriers and lower limits for the market entry of Internet Plus-related products, optimize the credit system, draft a big data strategy and promote legal services.

Taking advantage of the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, the government will encourage more Internet companies to increase their presence in the global market.

To meet the need of "Internet Plus" development, China will train, and make a better use of local and foreign talent, according to the action plan.

The government will provide finance support and tax references to key projects related to the Internet Plus plan, and encourage local governments to follow suit, while welcoming investors from home and abroad.

A ministerial joint conference system will be introduced in order to address important problems in implementing the action plan.

The cabinet also vowed to launch more pilot zones and encourage innovation demonstration zones such as Zhongguancun, the Chinese version of Silicon Valley.

Local governments were urged to come up with their own action plans.

"The favorable wind of Internet Plus is set to push the Chinese economy to a higher level," Li said earlier this year.

The action plan comes as China enters a crucial period for deepening reform and restructuring after the economy registered a growth rate of 7.4 percent in 2014, its lowest pace in 24 years.

China has the most Internet and cell phone users in the world. The country had 649 million Internet users by the end of 2014, and some 557 million used cell phones to access the Internet, according to the China Internet Network Information Center data.

Internet Plus should mean smarter lives|Business|chinadaily.com.cn

 

[Economic superpower]

Lets just hope all these reform plans are actually implemented. Too many plans and not enough implementation.

All plans about liberalising interest rates and letting factor prices be set by the market have yet to be realised.

 

[cirr]

Internet Plus should mean smarter lives

Updated: 2015-07-03 08:14

By Ma Zhiping(China Daily USA)

The nation's "Internet Plus" initiative has developers and Internet companies rushing to tie the knot. Industry observers say these "marriages" will create a smart-cities, smart-communities and smart-homes market worth trillions of yuan.

In one recent commercial move, Beijing-based developer Huayuan Property Co Ltd got hitched to Internet security software provider Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, and together they plan to use Qihoo's smart-home systems in communities built by Huayuan.

All the parties involved in these pairings believe that the "Internet Plus" strategy has huge potential to create smart communities that will sit on smart furnishings, and be protected by smart community security systems. Community entertainment facilities, medical and education services and community-based e-finance and e-commerce networks will be smarter and more efficient than ever before.

In the future, many more middle-class city dwellers will be yearning for better living conditions, and will expect their homes and communities to not only be safe and convenient, but also be smart to live in.

And the building and construction industries and the Internet sector are all promising their own blueprints for this, and much more.

But many of the so-called smart communities that already exist have weak security, poor communication services and lax management.

A friend who bought a so-called smart home in eastern Beijing in 2007 told me recently she was worried that the entry controls for her community and her own apartment building kept breaking. The gates were often left open, leaving any stranger free rein.

She complained that the security devices on her windows, even the smoke alarm in the kitchen, had never been tested, although many of the residents had complained to the management office to get the systems working.

The intercom system on her door was mostly "decoration", she continued, adding that when she needed things fixed, she had to resort to endless calls.

I don't think her trials are unique. But I hope that, through the "Internet Plus" strategy, the government can help solve these kinds of problems.

Developing smart communities is complicated, and involves almost every aspect of life, and so government planning and guidance is crucial.

The government should adopt an Internet mindset and provide top-level design, detailed planning and guidance in the development of genuinely smart communities - which will become the link between smart cities and smart homes.

The Ministry of Construction actually introduced the concept of smart communities at the turn of the century and drafted a plan in 2001.

That plan specified that a smart community should have an automated computer management center that offers information and communication services, collects utility payments and manages security systems, among other tasks.

But although Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing are reported to have developed some world-class smart communities, most have often ended up being barely clever.

Many key elements of smart communities, such as security monitoring, are often there just for show. In many cases they have never been connected or used, because the management companies at many communities consider fee collection more of a priority.

Some leading industry insiders have put forward serious recommendations to improve the situation, and their comments need to be taken seriously by government, homebuilders and Internet companies.

The key point that many make is that merely installing so-called smart systems is pointless unless they are used, maintained and managed wisely.

With vast fortunes being spent on buying their very own smart homes, too often purchasers are being left disappointed when they realize they simply have an expensive property, rather than a smart one.

Successful implementation of the "Internet Plus" strategy means everything concerned should be fully and thoroughly connected.

While piloting the strategy in the housing construction sector, the government must ensure the necessary levels of supervision and administration, so that plans for smart communities are actually implemented, and then studiously managed to serve their customers.

Would-be smart-home owners have to keep an eye out for fatal flaws in the model, too. Sorting out realty management services, or community services, for instance, can cause a huge bottleneck.

There is also a pressing need for talented people who know the Internet, and who can meet the expectations of residents in smart communities, to be employed to run them.

Smart living will require high-quality Internet systems and good, trustworthy, smart realty management teams able to get the job done.

Homebuilders and Internet companies must remember that everything in a smart community has to be functional, sustainable, reliable, economic, suitable and practical to operate.

The government, meanwhile, should ensure that these "Internet Plus" marriages give birth to genuinely smart communities, and more of the residents can enjoy the benefits.

Internet Plus should mean smarter lives|Business|chinadaily.com.cn

 

[cirr]

Don't it attract more cyber espionage

This, when fully implemented, will make China one of the most advanced economies in the world.

Across China: Internet boosts tourism management

ZHENGZHOU, Jun 18, 2015 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --

Gong Hua, a Beijing resident, is planning a trip. He will visit Longmen Grottoes, a world cultural heritage site in central Henan Province this weekend, a three-day holiday.

He has booked everything via apps on his phone.

In April, Longmen Grottoes signed a deal with Tencent to develop Internet services including ticket sales, guidance and management. Longmen hosted more than 3 million tourists last year.

Now, Gong can preview the grottoes through WeChat, Tencent's instant messenger.

"Internet plus is a very good tool," said Yu Ying, head of the Longmen Grottoes Scenic Area Administration Commission.

"Internet Plus" was put forward by Premier Li Keqiang in March, meaning the integration of the Internet and traditional industries through online platforms and IT technology.

It is reshaping traditional industries, including manufacturing and tourism.

"Travels and the ways Chinese tourists can get information are changing. Destinations are responding to the change," said Xie Chaowu, a tourism researcher at Huaqiao University in Fujian Province.

In an era of mass tourism, traditional tourist spots cannot offer a good service to everyone, while Internet makes many services available to tourists, said Xie.

Internet plus tourism is gaining momentum in other provinces such as the southwestern Sichuan, and eastern Anhui and Shandong provinces.

The integration of Internet into traditional tourism will enhance the management efficiency and service quality of tourist spots, said Yuan Yanhong, general manager of the Chongdugou scenic area in Henan.

As tourism booms, insufficient staff and services in many scenic spots cannot meet the demands of visitors, said Yuan.

The Chongdugou area began to sell tickets online in 2009. More than 60 out of 300 farmers' restaurants have found tour group reservations through websites providing services for tourists.

Internet service will also help managers control the number of visitors and protect facilities, according to Yuan.

The Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, began to cap the number of visitors at 80,000 per day on Saturday.

The museum also now requires all travel agencies book tickets online and demands the use of ID cards when purchasing tickets.

Individual.com

Internet-Plus Poised To Transform China’s Film Business Models

June 13, 2015 | 09:36PM PT

Patrick Frater

Asia Bureau Chief

Self-confidence overflowed as Chinese film and Internet executives pitched a new business model that may be on the way to transforming the fortunes of local studios and rolling back the influence of Hollywood in China.

At a high-powered seminar on Sunday at the Shanghai film festival, the plutocrat bosses of Bona Film Group and Enlight Media lifted the curtain on new slates of local pictures that each number more than 20, and are fuelled by big data, Internet-generated intellectual property and new media marketing.

Executives from Youzu Interactive and Alibaba Digital Entertainment were there to egg them on with further talk of transactional content platforms and massive crowd funding.

The term ‘Internet Plus’ is attributed to China’s premier Li Keqiang and is a reference to the ability of the Internet to enable new things.

“We have been through 12 years of initial reform. Now we need Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent to help us increase our competitiveness versus Hollywood. Already in the past year we have growth of online sales and fan bases,” said Yu Dong, chairman and CEO of producer-distributor Bona Film Group. He then went on to trail the announcement of a new 26 film slate that he said has a box office target of RMB10 billion ($1.6 billion).

Enlight Media chairman Wang Chengtian said that his firm, which he described as a “generation 1.5 film company,” is lining up a slate of 20 movies.

Wang predicted that a Netflix like, subscription video, company will succeed in China. “But it may not be one of the existing players,” he said.

Liu Chunning, head of Alibaba Digital Entertainment, said that Alibaba’s ‘T-Mall Box Office’ which will launched in the coming months, intends to be that newcomer. He described it as China’s largest household cinema and said that it will not be free of charge, unlike China’s currently dominant online streaming services which are advertising supported. Building a widely-used transactional platform he described as being “a catalyst for the whole film industry.”

Wang similarly predicted that such new ancillary platforms would transform the revenue models of Chinese film companies. “We can see that box office will be less than half of what we earn in future, with the majority coming from other media and IP sales,” he said. Currently, the Chinese film business sees some 85% of its income coming from theatrical box office. The country suffers from poorly developed ancillary markets, low TV syndication fees and piracy.

While the executives’ focus was largely on fulfilling the needs of their massive domestic market, they saw themselves as building world-beating businesses from China. In a two hour talk there was no talk of regulation or censorship, only of opportunity, making tons of money and beating fuddy-duddy Hollywood.

“Hollywood is stubborn, old-fashioned and inefficient,” said one speaker. “Japan and Europe are lagging behind,” said Youzu’s Lin.

At several points the discussion turned to whether Chinese movie companies are being swamped by the country’s Internet giants. But a consensus appeared to emerge that content remains king.

“In two recent meetings with [Alibaba founder] Jack Ma, he has told me that he wants wider dissemination of film, more involvement in ticket sales and merchandise. He convinced me of the need for quality content from which these things flow,” said Enlight’s Wang. “We are not working for Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, but rather for the Chinese audience.”

Alibaba Digital Entertainment’s Liu said: “We will leverage our assets to create an entertainment ecosystem that is open to all producers. Liu said that Alibaba’s structured version of crowd funding, called Yue Le Bao, has held some 13 funding rounds, raised over RMB560 million ($91 million) and made investments into 20 movies and TV series to date.

Yu said that Bona’s 26 film slate is likely to contain several Internet-generated properties and TV shows, one feature to be directed by Zhang Muye the author of the hit novel series “Ghost Blows Out The Light” (which is being adapted by Wanda, Enlight and Huayi Brothers as December blockbuster “The Ghouls”) and a TV series based on a subsequent novel series “Ghost Never Speaks.” Yu also revealed that Bona is working with China Film Group on a third film in CFG’s revolutionary propaganda film series.

Yu spoke of his Friday announcement of plans to take NASDAQ-listed Bona Film private. Already speculation is running high that the company will be relisted on a Chinese stock market. “My audience is in China. Coming home is the wish of all investors and partners,” he said.

Internet-Plus Transforming China’s Film Business | Variety


Evergrande Health launches internet-based community hospital

Evergrande Health Industry Group, a subsidiary of China's leading property developer Evergrande Group, has opened a internet community hospital in Guangzhou, adding one more division to its healthcare platform, reports the Guangdong-based 21st ...

 

[Beidou2020]

A signboard of 4G is seen at a branch of China Mobile in Shanghai, Dec 28, 2013. [Photo/IC]

New 4G network base stations covering the whole country, 100 megabyte fiber-optic connectivity and 30Mbps average broadband speed are some of the plans announced to boost Internet speed and cut costs by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Friday, said CCTV.

According to the ministry, new 4G network base stations will be built to cover the entire nation by the end of 2017, households in prefecture-level cities will have the ability to accesses 100 megabyte fiber-optic connectivity, the average broadband speed will reach 30Mbps in municipalities and provincial capitals and 20Mbps in other cities around the Chinese mainland.

Moreover, the average cost of broadband and mobile phones' high-speed data will be significantly reduced, it said.

The MIIT asked the three domestic carries, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, to provide the cost-cutting plans on Thursday and the details are expected to be released today, said Beijng News, citing people from one of the carries familiar with the matter.

According to an earlier report by Xinhua News Agency, the MIIT issued a guideline to extend broadband usage in China last Friday.

Over 600,000 new 4G network base stations will be built to cover more townships and villages. More than 40 million households will have access to fiber-optic broadband, and over 200 million mobile phone users will become 4G network users by the end of this year, according to the guideline.

About 60 million more people signed up to 4G accounts in the first quarter, meaning that 162 million people in China are 4G customers, according to government statistics.

According to China Daily, Wednesday's executive meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, asked companies to roll over the value of unused data in fixed price plans to the next period or allow customers to transfer unused data to others.

Li said optical fiber and fourth-generation telecom networks should be laid more quickly, and it set a goal of achieving investment worth more than 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) in the Internet this year.

An open market, fair competition and more financial support will help to upgrade broadband services in rural areas. The meeting decided to narrow the digital gap between urban and rural areas by increasing financial support for the improvement of facilities in the countryside. In addition, 14,000 more villages will be connected to the Internet.

 

[Indus Falcon]

Glad to hear this

 

[Alpha BeeTee]

Glad to hear this

What is our benifit in this ?
Idhar you yay halaat hen k from 15 days our PTCL is down due to blast in the local dabbi.Hence no intnet.
And they couldn't fix it half a month has passed..

 

[nForce]

Glad to hear this

O Bhai...tu kyun khush ho rha hai ?

 

[dravidianhero]

O Bhai...tu kyun khush ho rha hai ?

Hahaha

 

[Place Of Space]

Is this news? They have stated it many times, but no actual operation yet.

 

[Spectre]

O Bhai...tu kyun khush ho rha hai ?

Off- Topic: It is indeed interesting that many Pakistan consider China's interest same as theirs. I have rarely seen such appreciation of a country by another, however unrequited it might be on the other side. Even US and UK relationship is much more balanced relatively.

May be the lesson here is that Pakistanis can be fiercely loyal or is China being the sole source of "un-conditonal support" when Pakistan is on wicket internationally is reason for such love

 

[EAsian]

Is this news? They have stated it many times, but no actual operation yet.

My broadband speed had been increased from 20MB/S to 50MB/S.

 

[Place Of Space]

Off- Topic: It is indeed interesting that many Pakistan consider China's interest same as theirs. I have rarely seen such appreciation of a country by another, however unrequited it might be on the other side. Even US and UK relationship is much more balanced relatively.

May be the lesson here is that Pakistanis can be fiercely loyal or is China being the sole source of "un-conditonal support" when Pakistan is on wicket internationally is reason for such love

You don't know many Pakistani travel, do business or live in China.

 

[Spectre]

You don't know many Pakistani travel, do business or live in China.

You might be aware of India - China or Japan - China or US - China bilateral trade and the number of them visiting/living China, it dwarfs Pakistan.

None of that matters to geo-politics.