Information-related spending up 20%

China's information-related spending surged by 20 percent to reach 1.38 trillion yuan ($225 billion) in the first five months of this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Online transactions hit over 4 trillion yuan, up 46 percent compared with same period last year. Fixed asset investment in information technology amounted to 82.7 billion yuan, with input in the Internet and telecom infrastructure rising by 63.5 percent.

The ministry has identified household broadband access, online shopping, mobile payment and the micro media as major areas of growth in information consumption.

But against the backdrop of the value-added tax reform, the profit of the country's three telecom carriers dropped by 36.5 percent and profits for software and information service companies were down by 20 percent, the ministry said.