China's internet regulators have released a new set of rules effectively blocking access to any foreign based website. (Photo : Reuters)
The Chinese government debuted its "Internet Plus" action plan on Saturday to fuel economic growth by integrating the Internet with other traditional industries.
The Internet Plus, first presented by Premier Li Keqiang in March this year, will be instrumental in combining mobile internet, big data, and cloud computing with modern manufacturing to boost e-commerce, industrial networks, and Internet banking, and to help Internet companies increase their international presence, Li said.
The action plan will push China into the merging of the Internet and traditional industries, making way for expansion from consumption industries to manufacturing.
The action plan maps developmental targets and supportive measures for key sectors, which the government hopes can establish new industrial modes, including mass entrepreneurship and innovation, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, finance, public services, logistics, e-commerce, traffic, biology and artificial intelligence.
The Chinese government enacted the plan to further integrate the Internet with the economic social sectors, creating new industrial modes the main driving force of growth by 2018.
By 2025, Internet Plus will become a new economic model to further develop economic and social innovation and development. To this end, "China will solidify its development basis by promoting Internet technology, infrastructure, [while] tackling the technological bottlenecks of industries and strengthening risk control."
The government will create a more dire need for innovation, as it encourages enterprises to set up platforms and interconnected networks, while protecting intellectual property rights, the plan said.
Internet Plus-related products will clear barriers for China and will lower market limits as it optimizes the credit system while drafting a large data strategy and promoting legal services.
To meet the need of "Internet Plus" development, China will have to take advantage of Beijing's strategic Belt and Road initiative as the government urges more Internet providers to increase their presence in the global market.
Key projects will have full financial support and tax references from the national government, which will encourage local governments to follow its footsteps.
Important problems will be addressed by a ministerial joint conference system in order to implement the action plan.
The cabinet is also focused on more pilot zones to motivate innovation on demonstration zones such as Zhongguancun, China's version of Silicon Valley.
Local governments were also encouraged to create action plans on their own.
"The favorable wind of Internet Plus is set to push the Chinese economy to a higher level," Li said earlier this year.
Internet Plus arrives as China enters a time for serious reform and restructuring after the economy showed its lowest growth rate of 7.4 percent in 24 years.
