Internet
Internet Information on China Expands
Dozens of sites on the World Wide Web now feature information on China of interest to businesses and investors. Although the Chinese government has vowed to maintain controls over information available through the internet regarding China, one industry source said that most China-related Web sites have not been affected by the Chinese governments. Officially sponsored China Internet Corp and China Wide Web are often seen as second-rate choices for information when compared with other sites that provide resources free-of-charge. One of the most comprehensive resources is the Complete Reference to China/Chinese Related Web Sites (http://www.aimhi.com/VC/nankai/chinasit.html or http://www.aweto. com/china/), which has a database of over 500 links to mainland-related web sites. Marco Polo (http://www.calweb.com/marcop/marco.htm) lists Chinese companies and economic statistics, while the World Chinese Business Network (http://www.cbn.com.sg/) has information on 33,000 mainland companies, chambers of commerce, and trade associations. Foreign firms in search of trading partners should also check out the China Import and Export Company search engine at the Nihao China Infoweb site (http://www.nihao.com/imp-exp/ie-firm.htm). Finally, an excellent source of Chinese language economic data is China's State Information Center Economic JC Monitor (http://www.bta.net.cn/jc/sic0.htm).
South China Morning Post (HK), 12/12/96
Beijing Lifts Obstructions to Internet Access
The Chinese government has lifted barriers that restrict access to Western-media sites on the Internet, but buffers remain on sites that contain politically sensitive information. According to the U.S. China Business Council, who is familiar with the policy, China eased restrictions in December after blocking access in the fall of 1996. Local users of the World Wide Web can again access sites such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal and others. China still doesn't allow access to Web site that feature news from Hong Kong, Taiwan or overseas dissidents. A China State Council official said "some newspapers, magazines, articles and publications (on the Internet) that were sensitive to the mainland were blocked...but after checks were reopened."
The Asian Wall Street Journal (U.S.), 01/16/97
Infrastructure for ‘China Wide Web' to be Provided by Bay Networks
Bay Networks, announced that it will provide the infrastructure for the China Wide Web, one of the most far reaching information technology projects ever in China. Bay Networks will partner with the China Internet Corporation to design the CWW, which will provide comprehensive business information to corporate network users. The servers will be located in more that 50 cities around China. The first phase will cover Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenyang and Guangzhou, which are expected to be operational in one month. An additional five cities will be added each quarter.
Xinhua News Agency (PRC), 01/14/97
Survey of Internet Users in China
Horizon Research and Policy Analysis, a highly respected market research company in China, recently conducted a survey concerning Internet usage among people with a monthly income above 1,000 yuan ($120) in nine major Chinese cities and Hong Kong. The random sampling revealed that 3.6 percent of Chinese in the upper income brackets were users of computer networks in mainland China. The same sampling in Hong Kong showed that 6 percent used computer networks. Of the cities surveyed, the highest rate was found in Guangzhou at 10.9 percent; then decreased to 5.8 percent in Shenyang; 4.9 percent in Chongqing; 3.9 percent in Harbin; 3.5 percent in Changsha; 2.5 percent in Beijing; and 1.1 percent in Jinan and Shanghai; there were almost no users in Nanjing. Among current users, around 35 percent used Chinanet as their Internet service provider, but 50 percent of the users could not fully identify the names of the networks they used. Rather, they usually guessed that they belonged to the Internet. With the breakdown of incomes, 2.6 percent of those with a monthly income of $120 to $144 were users, while 4.6 percent of the $145-$240, and 8.3 percent of those with $241-$421 used computer networks. Of those that made $422 and above the usage dropped to 3.3 percent. The group with a monthly income of $241-$421 were the primary force of network users.
Horizon Market Research (PRC), 01/01/97
Internet Firm in China Signs Deal With Microsoft
Microsoft signed a deal to provide an Internet platform to China Infohighway Communications Co, a Chinese online firm, as it expects huge growth in Chinese Internet use over the next few years. Infohighway president Zhang Shuxin said that the company had tested the Microsoft Commercial Internet Services Platform for three months before formally signing the contract. "Our goal is to generate an open, interactive Chinese cyberspace which the general public in China can enter for work, study, entertainment and shopping," Zhang said. Jia-bin Duh, President of Microsoft (China) Co. Ltd. Said that this was Microsoft's first sale of the platform in China while many other Chinese firms were interested in purchasing the system.
Reuter (U.K.), 01/24/97
Embracing the Free Flow of Information
From all accounts, China appears to be fully accepting the world's most open source of information: the Internet. Many significant developments occurred last month. A joint venture was formed between News Corp and the People's Daily. They launched a $2.5 million Chinese web site called ChinaByte. This is the first visible projec t coming from News Corp's $5.4 million joint venture. The site has an online database of Chinese computer companies, information concerning trade and computer-related product development. Also last month, the Chinese government relaxed control over most foreign Internet news sources, after being blocked in 1996. It should be noted that the blocks to access were removed when protests from Chinese ministries took place. Most notable were the protests from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommucations, which thinks of the Internet as part of its jurisdiction. The government has said, however, that agencies will still be alert for potentially disruptive content. The Chinese-owned, China Internet Corp. Signed a contract with the Bay Networks of the U.S. to build a China-wide intranet. This will be China's first nationwide intranet which will provide comprehensive business information to corporate users. Bay Networks will supply know-how for the Infrastructure, software and network design.
EIU Business China (U.K.), 02/03/97
Chinese Embrace Internet Shopping
An astonishing 10 percent of Chinese Internet subscribers with credit cards have made purchases on the World Wide Web, according to a recent survey by the Redfish Group, an information technology research company. The survey revealed that there are now about 70,000 active Internet users in China and that this figure will probably rise to 250,000 this year. Steve Guerin, author of the report, said that their information was obtained by interviewing over 40 information systems managers at various sites and from responses to an E-mail questionnaire. Guerin said that credit card usage over the Internet for mainland Chinese was higher than expected. "Although the majority of credit card holders held non-international, non-convertible cards, a surprising number have already embraced Internet shopping," he said. The survey also discovered that over 42 percent of Chinese Internet users have a credit card. Ten percent of Chinese owning a card have made purchases compared to 34 percent of foreigners questioned in the survey.
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), 03/15/97
Trading Over the Internet in China
According to trade magazine publisher ASM Group, an increasing amount of foreign companies are bypassing Hong Kong because they can source directly from China on the Internet. In order to stay competitive, exporters will have to market products electronically. Hong Kong manufacturers are being threatened by increased operating costs and competition in China. Sarah Bannock, chief executive officer of the group's publishing division said that the Internet provided a cheap way to market or source products. "Improved communications and more efficient marketing and sourcing can reduce costs. The whole process of negotiating orders is speeded up by using e-mail, and exporters can get their products into the marketplace much faster," she said.
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), 04/08/97
Microsoft Says Internet to be Main Business in China
Microsoft officials said this week that Internet-related products are becoming its main source of revenue in China, as the market for closed intranets is growing rapidly. Officials declined to estimate when the company would begin making money in China and said that it was still in the investment phase. "The Internet is our main business in China," said Brad Chase, vice president in charge of Microsoft's Applications and Internet Client Group. "The Internet is not everything we do but it's part of everything we do." He said that although China was initially cautious in its approach to the Internet, due to its possible implications for stability, it is currently eagerly grasping the technologies. "The Chinese government is now more encouraging on Internet access," he said.
Reuters (U.K.), 04/08/97