Internet in China

Internet

An Opte Project visualization of routing paths through a portion of the Internet

General

* Access
* Activism
* Censorship
* Data activism
* Democracy
* Digital divide
* Digital rights
* Freedom
* Freedom of information
* Internet phenomena
* Net neutrality
* Privacy
* Right to Internet access
* Slacktivism
* Sociology
* Usage
* Vigilantism
* Virtual community
* Virtual volunteering

Governance

* IGF
* NRO
* IANA
* ICANN
* IETF
* ISOC

Information infrastructure

* Domain Name System
* Hypertext Transfer Protocol
* Internet exchange point
* Internet protocol suite
* Internet Protocol
* Transmission Control Protocol
* Internet service provider
* IP address
* Internet Message Access Protocol
* Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Services

* Blogs
* Microblogging
* Email
* Fax
* File sharing
* File transfer
* Games
* Instant messaging
* Podcasts
* Shopping
* Television
* Voice over IP
* World Wide Web
* search

History

* History of the Internet
* Oldest domain names
* Pioneers
* Protocol Wars

Guides

* Index
* Outline

Internet portal

* v
* t
* e

Politics of China

Leadership

Leadership generations
Succession of power

* Hu–Wen Administration (2002-2012)
* Xi–Li Administration (2012-2017)
* Xi Administration (since 2017)
* 4th Leadership Core: Xi Jinping
* 20th Party Politburo: Xi Jinping
* 14th State Council: Li Qiang
* Current state leaders
* Current provincial leaders

National leaders
Orders of precedence

* Paramount leader: Xi Jinping

First lady: Peng Liyuan

* Communist Party leader: Xi Jinping
* State representative: Xi Jinping
* Head of government: Li Qiang
* Congress Chairman: Zhao Leji
* Conference Chairman: Wang Huning
* Commander-in-chief: Xi Jinping
* Politburo Standing Committee longest-serving members

Related systems

* Unified power
* Democratic centralism
* Collective leadership
* Organization Department
* Elections
* Civil service

* Constitution
* Law

* Constitution

Previous constitutions

* 1954
* 1975
* 1978

* "People's democratic dictatorship" (Article 1)

* Democratic centralism (Article 3)
* Constitutional oath of office (Article 27)
* Protection of human rights (Article 33)
* Freedom of religion (Article 36)
* Highest state organ of power (Article 57)

* * *

* Chinese legal system
* Civil law tradition
* Socialist law tradition
* Laws
* Legislation Law
* List of statutes

* * *

* General Principles of the Civil Law (to 2020)
* Civil Code (From 2021)
* Marriage Law
* Labour law
* Labour Law
* Labour Contract Law
* Property law
* Property Law
* Intellectual property law
* Patent law

* * *

* Administrative law
* Administrative Procedure Law

* * *

* Criminal law
* Capital punishment
* Capital offences
* Death sentence with reprieve

Communist Party

History

* Principal leaders

Constitution & ideology

*     * Admission Oath (Article 6)
* Socialism with Chinese characteristics

* Communism
* Marxism–Leninism
* Mao Zedong Thought
* Deng Xiaoping Theory

Primary stage of socialism
Four Cardinal Principles
* Three Represents
* Scientific Outlook on Development

Harmonious Socialist Society

* Xi Jinping Thought

Chinese Dream
Four Comprehensives
Two Establishes and Two Safeguards
* Democracy

Organization

*     * National Party Congress (20th)
* Central Committee (20th)

General Secretary (list)

Xi Jinping
* Central Politburo (20th)

Standing Committee (20th)

* Central Secretariat (20th)
* Central Military Commission

Chairman: Xi Jinping

Vice Chairmen:

Zhang Youxia, He Weidong
* National Security Commission

Chairman: Xi Jinping

Vice-Chairman:

Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi

Office Chief: Cai Qi

* Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission

Director: Xi Jinping

Deputy Directors:

Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi

Secretary-General: Wang Huning

* Financial & Economic Affairs Commission

Director: Xi Jinping

Deputy Director: Li Qiang

Office Chief: He Lifeng

* General Office

Director: Cai Qi
* Office of the General Secretary

Chief: Cai Qi
* Central Guard Bureau
* Central Guard Unit
* Office of the Central Secrecy Commission
* Organization Department

Head: Li Ganjie
* Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (20th)
* Standing Committee (20th)

Secretary: Li Xi
* Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission

Secretary: Zhang Shengmin
* Central Leading Group for Inspection Work

Leader: Li Xi

* * *

* Provincial committee
* Standing committee

Secretary
Deputy secretaries
* Party group

National People's Congress (14th)

* Elections
* Standing Committee (14th)
* Council of Chairpersons

Chairman: Zhao Leji

Vice-Chairpersons

Top-ranked: Li Hongzhong
Secretary-General: Liu Qi
* Special Committees
1. Ethnic Affairs
2. Constitution and Law
3. Supervisory and Judicial Affairs
4. Financial and Economic Affairs
5. Education, Science, Culture and Public Health
6. Foreign Affairs
7. Overseas Chinese Affairs
8. Environment Protection and Resources Conservation
9. Agriculture and Rural Affairs
10. Social Development Affairs
* Presidium

State representative

*     * President (list): Xi Jinping

* Presidential Office

Chief: Cai Qi
* Vice President: Han Zheng

Executive organ

*     * State Council (Central People's Government)
* Li Qiang Cabinet

Premier (list): Li Qiang

Vice-Premiers (list)

* Ding Xuexiang
* He Lifeng
* Zhang Guoqing
* Liu Guozhong

State Councilors

* Wang Xiaohong
* Wu Zhenglong
* Shen Yiqin

Secretary-General: Wu Zhenglong

* Cabinet-level departments
* National Development & Reform Commission
* Central bank
* National Audit Office
* General Office

Secretary-General
Deputy Secretaries-General
* State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission
* most Central Enterprises

Military organ

*     * Central Military Commission (CMC)

Chairman (supreme commander):

Xi Jinping
Vice Chairmen:

* Zhang Youxia
* He Weidong

Members:

* Liu Zhenli
* Miao Hua
* Zhang Shengmin

Departments:
1. General Office

Director: Zhong Shaojun
2. Joint Staff Dept.

Chief: Liu Zhenli
3. Political Work Dept.

Director: Miao Hua
4. Logistic Support Dept.

Director: Zhang Lin
5. Equipment Development Dept.

Director: Xu Xueqiang
6. Training and Administration Dept.

Director: Wang Peng
7. National Defense Mobilization Dept.

Director: Liu Faqing
8. Discipline Inspection Commission

Secretary: Zhang Shengmin
9. Politics and Legal Affairs Commission
10. Science and Technology Commission
11. Strategic Planning Office
12. Reform & Organizational Structure Office
13. Int'l Military Cooperation Office
14. Audit Office
15. Offices Administration Agency
National armed forces:

People's Liberation Army

Theater commands
People's Armed Police

China Coast Guard
Militia
* State Council

National Defense Mobilization Commission

Chairman: Li Qiang

Ministry of National Defense

Minister: Dong Jun

Ministry of Veterans Affairs
State Administration for Sci., Tech. & Industry for National Defense

Military history
* Armed conflicts
* Military modernization
* Military reform since 2015
* CMC Leading Group for Military Reform

Leader: Xi Jinping

Supervisory organ

*     * National Supervisory Commission

Director: Liu Jinguo

* * *

* Corruption in China
* Anti-corruption campaign since 2012

* * *

* Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)

* * *

* Commission Against Corruption (Macau)

Judicial organs

*     * Supreme People's Court

President: Zhang Jun

People's Courts Judicial Police
* Supreme People's Procuratorate

Prosecutor General: Ying Yong

People's Procuratorates Judicial Police

* * *

* Judiciary of Hong Kong
* Court of Final Appeal
* Department of Justice
* Prosecutions Division
* Law enforcement in Hong Kong
* Security Bureau
* Regular Disciplined Services
* Hong Kong Police Force

* * *

* Judiciary of Macau
* Court of Final Appeal
* Public Prosecutions Office
* Secretariat for Security
* Macau Security Force
* Unitary Police Services [zh]
* Public Security Police
* Judiciary Police [zh]

United front

* Political Consultative Conference
* National Committee

Chairman: Wang Huning

Vice-Chairpersons

Top-ranked: Shi Taifeng
Secretary-General: Wang Dongfeng
* Political parties:

CCP (ruling)

United Front Work Department

Head: Shi Taifeng

* RCCK
* CDL
* CNDCA
* CAPD
* CPWDP
* CZGP
* JS
* TDSL

Historical parties:

* KMT
* CDSP
* YCP

* Federation of Industry and Commerce
* People's organizations

* Law enforcement

* CCP Central Politics and Law Commission

Secretary: Chen Wenqing

* Ministry of Public Security

Minister: Wang Xiaohong

Public Security Organs People's Police
* State Immigration Administration
* Local public security bureaus
* Ministry of State Security

Minister: Chen Yixin

State Security Organs People's Police
* Ministry of Justice

Minister: He Rong

Judicial Administrative Organs People's Police
* Bureau of Prison Administration [zh]
* Office for Safeguarding National Security

* * *

* Urban Management (chengguan)

Propaganda

* Central Leading Group for Propaganda, Ideology and Culture

Leader: Cai Qi

Deputy Leaders: Li Shulei, Shen Yiqin

* Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization

Director: Cai Qi

Deputy Director: Li Shulei

* Central Propaganda Department

Head: Li Shulei

* National Press and Publication Administration
* China Film Administration
* State Council Information Office
* China Daily
* Ministry of Culture and Tourism
* National Radio and Television Administration
* China Media Group
* China Central Television
* China Global Television Network
* China National Radio
* China Radio International
* Xinhua News Agency
* Reference News
* China News Service
* People's Daily
* Global Times
* China Today

* * *

* Censorship in China
* Radio jamming
* Overseas censorship of Chinese issues
* Media of China
* Internal media
* Publishing industry in China

* * *

* Internet in China
* Internet censorship
* Great Firewall
* Great Cannon
* Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission

Director: Cai Qi

* Cyberspace Administration of China

Director: Zhuang Rongwen

* Hong Kong
* Macau

* Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs

Leader: Ding Xuexiang
* HK & Macau Affairs Office

Director: Xia Baolong
* Hong Kong Liaison Office
* Macau Liaison Office
* One country, two systems
* Special administrative regions

* * *

* Hong Kong Basic Law
* Chief Executive: John Lee Ka-chiu
* Hong Kong SAR Government
* Politics of Hong Kong
* Pro-Beijing camp
* Pro-democracy camp
* Independence movement
* Mainland & HK CEPA

* * *

* Macao Basic Law
* Chief Executive: Ho Iat-seng
* Macau SAR Government
* Politics of Macau
* Mainland & Macau CEPA

Cross-Strait relations

* Cross-Strait relations
* Chinese Civil War
* One China
* Political status of Taiwan
* Republic of China on Taiwan
* Taiwan Area
* "Taiwan Province", PRC
* Taiwan independence movement
* Anti-Secession Law
* Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement
* Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement
* Chinese unification

* * *

* Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs

Leader: Xi Jinping
Deputy Leader: Wang Huning
* Taiwan Affairs Office

Director: Song Tao
* Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits

Foreign relations

* Central Foreign Affairs Commission

Director: Xi Jinping
Deputy Director: Li Qiang
Secretary-General: Wang Yi
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Minister: Wang Yi
Spokespersons
Diplomatic missions

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of China / in China

* * *

* Foreign aid from China / to China
* International Development Cooperation Agency
* Ministry of Commerce
* Exim Bank of China
* China Development Bank
* Belt and Road Initiative
* Silk Road Fund
* Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
* BRICS
* New Development Bank

* * *

* Ministry of National Defense
* International Military Cooperation Office

* * *

* NPC Foreign Affairs Committee
* CCP International Department
* State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs
* Overseas Chinese Affairs Office

* * *

* Chinese nationality law
* Chinese passports (Hong Kong; Macau)
* Visa requirements for Chinese citizens (Hong Kong, Macau)
* Visa policy of China (Hong Kong; Macau)
* National Immigration Administration

* * *

* Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence
* Panda diplomacy
* Beijing Consensus
* Community of Common Destiny

* * *

* China and the United Nations
* China and the World Trade Organization
* Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

* * *

* China–Africa relations
* China–Arab relations
* China–Caribbean relations
* China–European Union relations
* China–Latin America relations
* China–Pacific relations
* China–Russia relations
* China–United States relations

Related topics

* Administrative divisions
* Hukou system
* Family planning
* Ethnic minorities

China portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

China has been on the Internet intermittently since May 1989 and on a permanent basis since 20 April 1994,[1] although with heavily censored access. In 2008, China became the country with the largest population on the Internet and, as of 2024[update], has remained so.[2]: 18 As of December 2024,[update] 1.09 billion (77.5% of the country's total population) use internet in China.

China's first foray into the global cyberspace was an email (not TCP/IP based and thus technically not internet) sent on 20 September 1987 to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, reading, "Across the Great Wall, towards the rest of the world" (simplified Chinese: 越过长城，走向世界; traditional Chinese: 越過長城，走向世界; pinyin: Yuèguò chángchéng, zǒuxiàng shìjiè).[3][4] This later became a well-known phrase in China and as of 2018[update], was displayed on the desktop login screen for QQ mail.[5]

## History

[edit]

Internet penetration rates in China in the context of East Asia and Southeast Asia, 1995–2012

From 1995 to 2004, internet use in China was almost entirely in urban areas.[6]: 3 By 2003, less than 0.2% of rural people had used the internet.[6]: 3 In 2004, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began the Connecting Every Village Project which promoted the use of telecommunications and internet in rural China. Beginning in late 2009, the program began building rural telecenters each of which had at least one telephone, computer, and internet connectivity.[6]: 37–38 Approximately 90,000 rural telecenters were built by 2011.[6]: 38 By 2011, 89% of administrative villages had internet access.[6]: 3, 24

China replaced the U.S. in its global leadership in terms of installed telecommunication bandwidth in 2011. By 2014, China hosts more than twice as much national bandwidth potential than the U.S., the historical leader in terms of installed telecommunication bandwidth (China: 29% versus US:13% of the global total).[7]

China began implementing a National Broadband Strategy in 2013.[6]: 90 The program aimed to increase the speed, quality, and adoption of broadband and 4G networks.[6]: 90 As of 2018, 96% of administrative villages had fiber optic networks and 95% had 4G networks.[6]: 90

Wireless, especially internet access through a mobile phone, has developed rapidly. The affordability of mobile phones and internet data in China has resulted in the number of mobile internet users in China surpassing the number of computer internet users.[8]: 178 500 million were accessing the internet via cell phones in 2013.[9] The number of dial-up users peaked in 2004 and since then has decreased sharply.[citation needed] Generally statistics on the number of mobile internet users in China show a significant slump in the growth rate between 2008 and 2010, with a small peak in the next two years.[10]

In 2015, the State Council promoted the Internet Plus initiative, a five-year plan to integrate traditional manufacturing and service industries with big data, cloud computing, and Internet of things technology.[11]: 44 The State Council provided support for Internet Plus through policy support in area including cross-border e-commerce and rural e-commerce.[11]: 44 Various regulatory bodies promoted Internet Plus within their sectors.[11]: 44

In April 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) proposed that "satellite internet" should be a part of new national infrastructure. By the next month, Shanghai, Beijing, Fuzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen had each proposed regional action plans to support the new satellite internet constellation project[12] with a goal to provide domestic China satellite internet to rural areas.[13] Beginning in 2019, US (SpaceX Starlink)[14] and UK (OneWeb, 2020)[15][16] private companies had begun fielding large internet satellite constellations with global coverage; however China does not intend to license non-Chinese technical solutions for satellite broadband within the jurisdiction of Chinese law.[17]

## Structure

[edit]

An important characteristic of the Chinese internet is that online access routes are owned by the Chinese government, and private enterprises and individuals can only rent bandwidth from the state.[18] The first four major national networks, namely CSTNET, ChinaNet, CERNET and CHINAGBN, are the "backbone" of the mainland Chinese internet. Later dominant telecom providers also started to provide internet services. China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile control operate the internet exchange points through which incoming traffic must pass.[19]: 74

In January 2015, China added seven new access points to the world's internet backbone, adding to the three points that connect through Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.[20][21]

As of at least 2023, the internet in China is characterized by uneven development, with the adoption rate and availability of the internet varying by region and population groups.[6]: 5–7

## Userbase

[edit]

Internet café in Lijiang City

According to a survey by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China had 1.09 billion Internet users by the end of December 2023, a 1.9% increase over the year before and a penetration rate of 77.5%. The proportions of users accessing the Internet via mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers. TVs and tablet computers were 99.9%, 33.9%, 30.3%, 22.5% and 26.6%, respectively. 51.2% of internet users were male, while the remaining 48.8% were female.[22]

English-language media in China often use the word netizen to refer to Chinese internet users in particular.[23][24]

As of at least 2024, China has the largest number of internet users of any country.[2]: 18 Consistent with the trends of other large and relatively linguistically isolated countries, Chinese internet users tend to focus their internet use on content that that is domestically relevant.[19]: 74–75

## Regulation

[edit]

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is the primary agency for data regulation[11]: 30 and content regulation.[25] It coordinates data regulation enforcement among relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State Administration for Market Regulation.[11]: 30 The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has the primary responsibility for preventing cyberattacks.[11]: 143

### Regulatory priorities

[edit]

In 2009, China amended its Criminal Law to create a low threshold for the prosecution of malicious cybercrimes and illegal data sales.[11]: 131

Generally, China advocates for internet sovereignty and tends to prioritize cybersecurity more than personal data protection.[11]: 121 Chinese policymakers became increasingly concerned about the risk of cyberattacks following the 2010s global surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden, which demonstrated extensive United States intelligence activities in China.[11]: 129 As part of its response, the Communist Party in 2014 formed the Cybersecurity and Information Leading Group.[11]: 129, 250

The 2017 Cyber Security Law was also part of China's response to increased risks of foreign surveillance and foreign data collection following the United States surveillance disclosures.[11]: 250 Among other provisions, the law has significant data localization requirements.[11]: 250 It is a major pillar of the Chinese data regulatory environment.[11]: 131

Before the 2020-2021 Xi Jinping administration reform spree, the regulatory environment for internet companies was relatively lax because the government sought to encourage the development of the big data economy.[11]: 121 The regulatory environment for tech companies subsequently became stricter and in 2021, two national data laws and a host of regulatory guidelines were promulgated, broadening the scope of government enforcement and increasing the penalties for personal data violations.[11]: 122

The 2021 Data Security Law classifies data into different categories and establishes corresponding levels of protection.[11]: 131 It imposes significant data localization requirements, in a response to the extraterritorial reach of the United States CLOUD Act or similar foreign laws.[11]: 250–251

The 2021 Personal Information Protection Law is China's first comprehensive law on personal data rights and is modeled after the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.[11]: 131

In summer 2021, MIIT began a six-month long regulatory campaign to address a variety of consumer protection and unfair competition issues, including interoperability concerns, in the consumer internet sector.[11]: 114 It held meetings with executives from major Chinese tech companies and instructed them that their companies could no longer block external links to competitors.[11]: 114

In 2022, the CAC issued measures and guidelines on security assessments for cross-border data transfers as part of an effort to institutionalize data transfer review mechanisms.[11]: 251

In July 2024, the CAC and the MPS released draft regulations that propose a voluntary digital ID number for all internet users nationwide instead of the current requirement for a phone number or personal ID number.[26]

## Content

[edit]

According to Kaiser Kuo, the internet in China is largely used for entertainment purposes, being referred to as the "entertainment superhighway". However, it also serves as the first public forum for Chinese citizens to freely exchange their ideas.[27] Most users go online to read news, to search for information, and to check their email. They also go to BBS or web forums, find music or videos, or download files.

### Messaging

[edit]

As of at least 2023, the most used internet services in China are instant messaging and mobile messaging apps.[6]: 8 In 2020, 99% of internet users in China used instant messaging, while 99.8% used mobile messaging apps.[6]: 8

As of 2019, 93.5% of Chinese internet users have used WeChat.[6]: 76

### Content providers

[edit]

Chinese-language infotainment web portals such as Tencent, Sina.com, Sohu, and 163.com are popular. For example, Sina claimed[when?] it has about 94.8 million registered users and more than 10 million active ones engaged in their fee-based services. Other Internet service providers such as the human resource service provider 51job and the electronic commerce web sites such as Alibaba.com are less popular but more successful on their specialty.[citation needed] Their success led some of them to make IPOs.

All websites that operate in China with their own domain name must have an ICP license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Because the PRC government blocks many foreign websites, many homegrown copycats of foreign websites have appeared.[28]

### Search engines

[edit]

Top ten most popular search sites in China
As of 17 September 2013
By Unique visitors aged 15+, excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or mobile phones
Source: comScore qSearch[29][30] China | Share of searches (%)

|

Baidu | 63.16
360 | 18.23
Sogou | 10.35
Soso | 3.62
Google | 2.88
Bing | 0.57
Yahoo | 0.48
Youdao | 0.16
other | 0.09

Baidu is the leading search engine in China, while most web portals also provide search opportunities like Bing, Sogou.

### Online communities

[edit]

Although the Chinese write fewer emails,[clarification needed] they enjoy other online communication tools. Users form their communities based on different interests. Bulletin boards on portals or elsewhere, chat rooms, instant messaging groups, blogs are very active, while photo-sharing and social networking sites are growing rapidly. Some Wikis such as the Sogou Baike and Baidu Baike are "flourishing".

Microblogs (weibo) have since 2009 become one of the most widely used internet services in China.[6]: 146

### Social media

[edit]

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China is one of the most restricted countries in the world in terms of internet, but these constraints have directly contributed to the staggering success of local Chinese social media sites.[31] The Chinese government makes it impossible for foreign companies to enter the Chinese social media network. Without access to the majority of social media platforms used elsewhere in the world, the Chinese have created their own networks but with more users – which is why every global company pays attention to these sites. Some Chinese famous social medias are Sina Weibo, QQ, Qzone, Renren, Zorpia, and Douban. And in recent years, the use of WeChat has become more and more popular among people in China.[citation needed]

### Online shopping

[edit]

The rapidly increasing number of Internet users in China has also generated a large online shopping base in the country. A large number of Chinese internet users have even been branded as having an "online shopping addiction" as a result of the growth of the industry.[citation needed] According to Sina.com, Chinese consumers with Internet access spend an average of RMB10,000 online annually.[32]

### Online Mapping Services

[edit]

China has endeavored to offer a number of online mapping services and allows the dissemination of geographic information within the country. Tencent Maps (腾讯地图), Baidu Maps (百度地圖) and Tianditu (天地圖) are typical examples. Online mapping services can be understood as online cartography backed up by a geographic information system (GIS). GIS was originally a tool for cartographers, geographers and other types of specialists to store, manage, present and analyze spatial data. In bringing GIS online, the Web has made these tools available to a much wider audience.[33] Furthermore, with the advent of broadband, utilizing GIS has become much faster and easier. Increasingly, non-specialist members of the public can access, look up and make use of geographic information for their own purposes.[34] Tianditu is China's first online mapping service. Literally World Map, Tianditu was launched in late October 2010. The Chinese government has repeatedly claimed[citation needed] that this service is to offer comprehensive geographical data for Chinese users to learn more about the world.

### Online payment

[edit]

The method of directly paying by online banking is required to be able to make online banking payment after opening online banking and can realize online payment of UnionPay, WeChat Pay, online payment by credit card, and so on.

This payment method is directly paid from the bank card. The third-party payment itself integrates multiple payment methods, and the process is as follows:[citation needed]

1\. Recharge the money in online banking to a third-party.

2\. Pay by third-party deposit when the user pays.

3\. The fee is charged for withdrawal. Third-party payment methods are diverse, including mobile payments and fixed-line payments.

In 2013, Alipay overtook PayPal to become the world's largest mobile payment provider.[6]: 150 As of January 2015, Alipay, owned by Alibaba Group has 600 million counts of users and has the largest user group among all online-payment providers.[35] It continues to be China's largest online payment service as of at least 2023.[6]: 150 WeChat Pay remains a strong competitor to Alipay, with 37% of the Chinese mobile payment market as of 2016.[6]: 151

### Online gaming

[edit]

Main article: Online gaming in China

As of 2022, China is the second largest market for online games after the United States.[36] In 2023, the country has 668 million internet users playing online games and the industry was worth US$42 billion.[37] 53.8% of gamers are male, 46.2% are female.[38]

In 2007, the Ministry of Culture (MoC) and General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) along with several other agencies implemented the Online Game Anti-Addiction System which aimed to stop video game addiction in youth. This system restricted minors from playing more than 3 hours a day and required Identification (ID) checking in order to verify you are of age.[39]

Later in 2019, the Chinese government announced in November that gamers under the age of 18 would be banned from playing video games between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. In addition, gamers under 18 would be restricted to 90 minutes of playing during the weekdays and 3 hours of playing during weekends and holidays as per new guidelines.[40]

As of 2021, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) further restricted rules limiting playtime for under-18s to one hour per day from 8p.m. to 9 p.m. and only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.[41]

### Adult content

[edit]

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Although restrictions on political information remain strong, several sexually oriented blogs began appearing in early 2004. Women using the web aliases Muzi Mei (木子美) and Zhuying Qingtong (竹影青瞳) wrote online diaries of their sex lives and became minor celebrities. This was widely reported and criticized in mainland Chinese news media, and several of these bloggers' sites have since been blocked, and remain so to this day. This coincided with an artistic nude photography fad (including a self-published book by dancer Tang Jiali) and the appearance of pictures of minimally clad women or even topless photos in a few Chinese newspapers, magazines and on several websites. Many dating and "adult chat" sites, both Chinese and foreign, have been blocked, although some continue to be accessible.

### Censorship

[edit]

Main articles: Internet censorship in China and Internet censorship

The Golden Shield Project was proposed to the State Council by Premier Zhu Rongji in 1993. It is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security.[11]: 143 As a massive surveillance and content control system, it was launched in November 2000, and became known as the Great Firewall of China. The governmental authorities not only block website content but also monitor the Internet access of individuals; such measures have attracted the nickname The Great Firewall of China.[42]

However, there are some methods of circumventing the censorship by using proxy servers outside the firewall.[43] Users may circumvent all of the censorship and monitoring of the Great Firewall if they have a secure VPN or SSH connection method to a computer outside mainland China.[44]

In 2017, the Chinese government declared unauthorized VPN services illegal, requiring VPN providers to obtain state approval.[45] Although China restricts VPNs, they remain widely used by private individuals.[46]: 109 State-owned enterprises or state institutions also use VPNs for official work.[46]: 109 The Chinese government has authorized several official VPN providers.[46]: 109 Those who develop or sell their own VPNs potentially face years in prison.[46]: 109

Different methods are used to block certain websites or pages including DNS poisoning, blocking access to IPs, analyzing and filtering URLs, inspecting filter packets and resetting connections.[47]

In 2009, motivated in part by its desire to prevent color revolutions, China banned Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.[48] It banned Google the next year.[48] By blocking major international internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, the Great Firewall has contributed to the development of domestic alternatives including Baidu, Renren, Youku, and Weibo.[6]: 8

### Memes

[edit]

The Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures, initially a humorous hoax, became a popular and widespread internet meme in China.[49][50] These ten hoaxes reportedly originated in response to increasing online censorship and have become an icon of Chinese internet users' resistance to it.[51][52]

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a directive on 30 March 2009 to highlight 31 categories of content prohibited online, including violence, pornography and content which may "incite ethnic discrimination or undermine social stability". Many Chinese internet users believe the instruction follows the official embarrassment over the "Grass Mud Horse" and the "River Crab". Industry observers believe that the move was designed to stop the spread of parodies or other comments on politically sensitive issues in the runup to the anniversary of the 4 June Tiananmen Square protests.[53]

## Internet advertising market

[edit]

The size of China's online advertising market was RMB 3.3 billion in the third quarter 2008, up 19.1% compared with the previous quarter. Tencent, Baidu.com Inc, Sina Corp remain the Top 3 in terms of market share. Keyword advertising market size reached RMB 1.46 billion, accounting for 43.8% of the total Internet advertising market with a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 19.3%, while that of the online advertising site amounted to RMB 1.70 billion, accounting for 50.7% of the total, up 18.9% compared with the second quarter.[54]

Currently, Baidu has launched the CPA platform, and Sina Corp has launched an advertising scheme for intelligent investment. The moves indicate a market trend of effective advertising with low cost. Online advertisements of automobiles, real estate and finance will keep growing rapidly in the future.[54]

## See also

[edit]

* China portal
* Internet portal

* China Internet Project
* E-commerce in China
* Golden projects
* Great Cannon
* Human flesh search engine (HFSE)
* List of Internet phenomena in China
* List of Internet slang in China
* Media of China
* Telecommunications in China
* Telecommunications industry in China
* Satellite internet

## References

[edit]

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* v
* t
* e

Censorship

Media regulation|

* Books
* books banned
* Films
* banned films
* Internet
* circumvention
* Music
* Postal
* Press
* Radio
* Speech and expression
* Student media
* Thought
* Video games
* banned video games

Methods|

* Bleeping
* Book burning
* Broadcast delay
* Censor bars
* Chilling effect
* Collateral censorship
* Concision
* Conspiracy of silence
* Content-control software
* Damnatio memoriae
* Euphemism
* Minced oath
* Expurgation
* Fogging
* Gag order
* Heckling
* Heckler's veto
* Internet police
* Memory hole
* National intranet
* Newspaper theft
* Pixelization
* Prior restraint
* Propaganda
* Purge
* Revisionism
* Sanitization
* Self-censorship
* Speech code
* Strategic lawsuit
* Surveillance
* computer and network
* mass
* Whitewashing
* Word filtering

Contexts|

* Criminal
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* Apple
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* Google
* Hate speech
* Online
* Ideological
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* Moralistic fallacy
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* Politics
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* Suppression of dissent
* Systemic bias

By country|

* Censorship
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* v
* t
* e

Telecommunications in China

Telecommunications industry

History|

* CERNET
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* Chinese Domain Name Consortium
* CNGrid
* Digital divide
* Electronics industry
* ICP license
* Internet
* Internet censorship
* Golden Shield Project
* List of websites blocked
* Mobile phone industry
* Online gaming

Government agencies|

* China Internet Network Information Center
* Internet police
* Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
* Cyberspace Administration of China
* State Council Information Office

Telecom operators|

* China Mobile
* China Telecommunications Corporation
* China Telecom
* China Unicom

Equipment suppliers|

* Amoi
* Datang Telecom Group
* Datang Telecom Technology
* Huawei
* Konka Group
* Ningbo Bird
* ZTE

* Economy
* Media
* Television

* v
* t
* e

Telecommunications

History|

* Beacon
* Broadcasting
* Cable protection system
* Cable TV
* Communications satellite
* Computer network
* Data compression
* audio
* DCT
* image
* video
* Digital media
* Internet video
* online video platform
* social media
* streaming
* Drums
* Edholm's law
* Electrical telegraph
* Fax
* Heliographs
* Hydraulic telegraph
* Information Age
* Information revolution
* Internet
* Mass media
* Mobile phone
* Smartphone
* Optical telecommunication
* Optical telegraphy
* Pager
* Photophone
* Prepaid mobile phone
* Radio
* Radiotelephone
* Satellite communications
* Semaphore
* Phryctoria
* Semiconductor
* device
* MOSFET
* transistor
* Smoke signals
* Telecommunications history
* Telautograph
* Telegraphy
* Teleprinter (teletype)
* Telephone
* The Telephone Cases
* Television
* digital
* streaming
* Undersea telegraph line
* Videotelephony
* Whistled language
* Wireless revolution

Pioneers|

* Nasir Ahmed
* Edwin Howard Armstrong
* Mohamed M. Atalla
* John Logie Baird
* Paul Baran
* John Bardeen
* Alexander Graham Bell
* Emile Berliner
* Tim Berners-Lee
* Francis Blake (telephone)
* Jagadish Chandra Bose
* Charles Bourseul
* Walter Houser Brattain
* Vint Cerf
* Claude Chappe
* Yogen Dalal
* Daniel Davis Jr.
* Donald Davies
* Amos Dolbear
* Thomas Edison
* Lee de Forest
* Philo Farnsworth
* Reginald Fessenden
* Elisha Gray
* Oliver Heaviside
* Robert Hooke
* Erna Schneider Hoover
* Harold Hopkins
* Gardiner Greene Hubbard
* Internet pioneers
* Bob Kahn
* Dawon Kahng
* Charles K. Kao
* Narinder Singh Kapany
* Hedy Lamarr
* Innocenzo Manzetti
* Guglielmo Marconi
* Robert Metcalfe
* Antonio Meucci
* Samuel Morse
* Jun-ichi Nishizawa
* Charles Grafton Page
* Radia Perlman
* Alexander Stepanovich Popov
* Tivadar Puskás
* Johann Philipp Reis
* Claude Shannon
* Almon Brown Strowger
* Henry Sutton
* Charles Sumner Tainter
* Nikola Tesla
* Camille Tissot
* Alfred Vail
* Thomas A. Watson
* Charles Wheatstone
* Vladimir K. Zworykin

Transmission
media|

* Coaxial cable
* Fiber-optic communication
* optical fiber
* Free-space optical communication
* Molecular communication
* Radio waves
* wireless
* Transmission line
* telecommunication circuit

Network topology
and switching|

* Bandwidth
* Links
* Nodes
* terminal
* Network switching
* circuit
* packet
* Telephone exchange

Multiplexing|

* Space-division
* Frequency-division
* Time-division
* Polarization-division
* Orbital angular-momentum
* Code-division

Concepts|

* Communication protocol
* Computer network
* Data transmission
* Store and forward
* Telecommunications equipment

Types of network|

* Cellular network
* Ethernet
* ISDN
* LAN
* Mobile
* NGN
* Public Switched Telephone
* Radio
* Television
* Telex
* UUCP
* WAN
* Wireless network

Notable networks|

* ARPANET
* BITNET
* CYCLADES
* FidoNet
* Internet
* Internet2
* JANET
* NPL network
* Toasternet
* Usenet

Locations|

* Africa
* Americas
* North
* South
* Antarctica
* Asia
* Europe
* Oceania
* (Global telecommunications regulation bodies)

* Telecommunication portal
* Category
* Outline
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Internet in Asia

Sovereign states|

* Afghanistan
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* Bhutan
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* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
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* Thailand
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

States with
limited recognition|

* Abkhazia
* Northern Cyprus
* Palestine
* South Ossetia
* Taiwan

Dependencies and
other territories|

* British Indian Ocean Territory
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* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Hong Kong
* Macau

* Category
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