China's online streaming users exceed 600 million

CHENGDU - The number of online streaming service users in China had reached 609 million as of June this year, according to an industry report released Wednesday.

China's online video market is estimated to exceed 201.6 billion yuan ($29 billion) in 2018, up 39.1 percent year-on-year, according to the 2018 China Online Streaming Development Study Report.

The report was released by China Netcasting Services Association (CNSA) on the sidelines of the ongoing 6th China Internet Radio & Video Convention, held in Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Strong growth has been posted in the short-video market. As of June, the number of short-video users had reached 594 million, accounting for 97.5 percent of China's total online streaming users. The short-video market is expected to be valued at 11.8 billion yuan this year, a year-on-year increase of 106 percent.

"The use of latest technologies, such as big data and virtual reality, has pushed forward the upgrading of China's online video market," said Zhou Jie, deputy secretary of the CNSA.

The CNSA is a national association established in 2011 and published its first report in 2015.