Nation to further deepen rectification of internet, telecom sectors: official

China will continue deepening rectification of the country’s internet and telecommunications sectors by strengthening supervision of relevant companies, in a bid to create a safe and orderly market and ensure fair competition, a senior official said on Sunday.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ( MIIT) will take steps to further strengthen supervision of the internet and telecommunications industries, Xiao Yaqing, minister of the MIIT, said in an interview with the Economic Daily newspaper.

Xiao noted that the MIIT will enhance and finalize supervision for internet and telecom firms to improve product quality and services, and promptly implement ratifications for firms that violate regulations while strengthening cooperation with relevant authorities.

The MIIT has launched a six- month campaign in July to rectify China’s internet industry targeting four aspects, eight problems and 22 typical violations, according to Xiao, adding that internet firms have gradually enhanced their compliance awareness.

Some major problems have been initially solved, as the problem detection rate for users’ failure of closing apps’ popups decreased from 69 percent to almost zero, and the problem detection rate of pop- ups guiding users to other apps dropped from 90 percent to 1 percent.

Xiao stressed the importance of increasing support and constantly optimizing the development environment for small and medium- sized enterprises ( SMEs) by coming up with targeted plans and revising policies to tackle more specific problems such as tax reductions.

The MIIT has been working on a plan targeting the development of SMEs during the 14th Five- Year Plan ( 2021- 25) period. The plan will include seven key tasks and nine projects to cultivate and benefit more SMEs for their long- term development.