China’s information consumption exceeds 5 trillion yuan in first three quarters

China’s information consumption in the first three quarters of 2022 exceeded 5 trillion yuan (about $700.5 billion), playing an increasingly important role in maintaining steady economic growth, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The market size of information consumption stood at 6.8 trillion yuan in 2021, up from 2.8 trillion yuan in 2014. Information consumption has become a key driving force for expanding domestic demand and promoting industrial upgrading.

A child "pilots" a plane via a VR program at the 2022 World Conference on VR Industry in Nanchang, east China’s Jiangxi province, Nov. 13, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Bao Gansheng)

Deeper integration of the new generation of information technologies into economic and social development will lead to new consumption hotspots and expand the market size of information consumption.

One example is the commercial use of 5G, which is expected to drive information consumption with about 8.2 trillion yuan between 2020 and 2025, according to a report on the development trend of the country’s information consumption (2022) issued by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The country’s accelerated efforts in promoting universal access to the new generation of information technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things have allowed for information technologies to be integrated more deeply into fields such as entertainment, culture, tourism, education, and healthcare, continuously improving the quality and scale of information consumption, according to Zhang Li, deputy chief engineer at the Policy and Economic Research Institute under CAICT.

Zhang explained that new trends are currently emerging in information consumption. New online and offline scenarios have provided great potential for information consumption. While new business forms such as online fitness and exhibitions have allowed consumption to see sustained recovery, new scenarios such as online education and healthcare have guaranteed the supply of public services.

Furthermore, growing numbers of residents are purchasing medium and high-end information consumption products. Wearable devices and other new intelligent hardware have given consumers a better experience, and people are buying smart home appliances for the whole house.

By wearing a virtual reality (VR) device, users can play table tennis with someone in another city, giving them an immersive and interactive experience.

“The evolution of intelligent products like VR terminals further stimulates the innovative development of new business forms regarding information consumption,” said Yi Xuan, an executive of Chinese smart wearable device maker PICO. Yi explained that the company has established over 200 VR experience zones across China.

Meanwhile, information consumption has continued to increase and extended to both the younger and older generations. People have shown greater interest in paid content, which will further expand the size of information consumption.

Favorable policies have also helped foster a better business environment for the development of information consumption.

In April 2022, the General Office of the State Council unveiled guidelines to tap China’s consumption potential, stressing that efforts would be made to expand and upgrade information consumption.

Four months later, the MIIT announced a list of new information consumption demonstration projects, reflecting the flourishing information consumption field in China.

To promote high-quality development of information consumption, China needs to further increase technology research and development and boost people’s desire to spend.