AI Chip Photo: VCG

 
As of June, China's internet user base had reached 1.123 billion, with an internet penetration rate of 79.7 percent, allowing more segments of the population to share the benefits of digital development. Emerging markets are thriving, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being rapidly implemented, and China's global influence is steadily rising, with technological innovation driving high-quality economic and social development, according to a latest report from the China Internet Network Information Center. 

The number of internet users aged 60 and above has reached 161 million, while the number of rural internet users stands at 322 million—both continuing to show steady growth, according to the report. 

The report shows that in the first half of 2025, generative AI products achieved comprehensive progress from technology to application, with a rapid increase in product numbers and continuous expansion of use cases.

China's influence in the field of artificial intelligence has risen significantly, the report said. As of March, a total of 346 generative AI services had completed registration with the Cyberspace Administration of China. The surge in China's AI products has drawn global attention—DeepSeek, for example, achieved more than 30 million daily active users worldwide less than 20 days after its launch, topping app charts in 140 countries and regions, and becoming the fastest-growing generative AI application globally, according to the report. 

Generative AI technology is continuing to penetrate deeply into specific application scenarios. On the user side, as of June, the most common use of generative AI products was for answering questions, accounting for 80.9 percent of user interactions, the report said. 

On the industry side, China's AI industry exceeded 700 billion yuan ($97.5 billion) in scale in 2024, maintaining an annual growth rate of over 20 percent for several consecutive years. Domestic AI products have achieved breakthroughs in areas such as large-scale models with hundreds of billions of parameters and multimodal capabilities. They have also been deeply integrated into various application scenarios—including office collaboration, accessible education, industrial design, and content creation—forming a smart application ecosystem that spans multiple sectors.

Global Times