A senior official has called for making China a major power in the IT industry, as it is a fundamental, guiding and pillar industry, and plays a decisive role in the country's reform, opening and modernization drive.

Huang Ju, a vice premier and member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, made this call at a meeting with representatives from the Ministry of the Information Industry.

Huang praised the country's IT sector for its outstanding achievements over the past few decades, and urged it to make new breakthroughs in terms of technology and services.

According to the ministry, by 2003 China had 532 million telephone users, ranking first in the world, with 41.3 telephones for every 100 people. Last year, the industry generated 1.88 trillion yuan (about US$226.5 billion) in sales, and US$141 billion in exports.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2004)