China will accelerate the development of its information technology, particularly the internet and 5G applications, in order to support the growth of hundreds of other industrial sectors.
The country will expedite new infrastructure development, including information networks, in an effort to boost industrial and consumption upgrades, said the State Council after an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
“Enhancing new infrastructure development, including information networks, is a proactive approach to boost effective investment. Online home office and telemedicine enabled by information technology have played a big role in the Covid-19 response,” Li said.
Accelerating the development of information networks and other new infrastructure could catalyze the growth of many sectors, the State Council said. The initiative will contribute to industrial upgrades, foster new growth drivers and create more jobs, meeting current needs and serving long-term interests.
The State Council said the information technology sector should focus on creating new applications to maximize its growth potential. It said new applications should include online educational, medical and transport-monitoring systems as well as smart city projects.
Information networks and other new infrastructure should be promoted in light of the development needs and potential of related industries.
The central government will provide greater guidance and support for the information technology sector. It will encourage financial institutions to develop new products and launch new services to support the sector’s development.
Two sessions
The third annual session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body, has proposed holding its meeting in Beijing on May 21. The 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) will open its third annual session on May 22.
The two annual national meetings, known as the “two sessions,” were originally scheduled to kick off in early March but were postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, said the “two sessions” are a major political event in China. Wang said it was a major decision by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core to convene the “two sessions” against the special background that the country had “regularized” its Covid-19 epidemic response measures.
Stressing efforts for improving the political advisory work, Wang emphasized focusing on the key tasks of the Party and the country, providing valuable advice and good plans for issues like major epidemic prevention and control, the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, poverty alleviation and the making of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
The Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control situation in China is improving steadily while normal economic and social life is gradually resuming, according to a statement by the NPC Standing Committee. With various factors taken into consideration, the conditions for convening the NPC annual session at an appropriate time are ready.
Company news
The Bank of Communications said its total assets had reached 10.45 trillion yuan (US$1.48 trillion) at the end of March, up 5.54% from the end of last year.
In the first quarter, the bank’s net profit grew 1.8% to 21.451 billion yuan from the same period last year. The net interest margin fell to 1.55% from 1.59%. The non-performing loan ratio was 1.59%, up 0.12 percentage points. The bank said the risk of its non-performing loans had remained manageable.
CITIC Securities said its net profit dropped 4.3% to 4.08 billion yuan for the three months ended March 31 from a year ago. Operating income rose 22.1% to 12.85 billion yuan and the profit margin decreased by 8.5 percentage points to 32.9%.
CITIC Securities’ overall performance in the first quarter was in line with expectations with its brokerage segment outperforming its peers, analysts said. The brokerage’s investment bank segment will be supported by the opening of China’s capital markets, they said.
Huawei Technologies and STMicroelectronics, a French-Italian chipmaker, will jointly design chips for smartphones and self-driving cars, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
STMicroelectronics has been supplying sensor chips to Huawei for some time. The two companies began the new collaboration, which will help accelerate Huawei’s self-driving technology, last year.
The story was written by Xu Jiangshan and Yuan Tianyi and first published at ATimesCN.com. It was translated into English by Nadeem Xu.