China unveils plan for information-based growth

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Thursday unveiled a plan for promoting informatization in its social and economic development over the next few years.

"Deepening informatization plays an important role in accelerating economic restructuring and growth pattern transformation, driving up effective investment and consumption demand, and continuously improving people's livelihood," the MIIT said in a statement.

Informatization refers to the utilization of information technologies and the development and use of information resources in social and economic development, according to a government document released in 2006.

By 2015, China will make substantial progress in integrating information technology with industrialization and promoting informatization in all aspects of its social and economic development, according to the plan.

"The Informatization Development Index (IDI) will reach 0.79 by 2015," the plan said.

The IDI, compiled by the Chinese government to show the level of informatization, stood at 0.73 in 2011, up 11.51 percent from the previous year, the latest data showed.

By 2015, the country will provide fixed-line broadband Internet access for more than 270 million households, including over 70 millon with optical fiber access, and Internet users will exceed 850 million nationwide, according to the plan.

The plan also specifies tasks for governments at all levels to promote informatization in economic development, social undertakings and the government's administrative affairs.