From Internet+ to AI+: The Digital Economy Enters a New Stage of Innovation-Led Growth

As of June, China had 1.123 billion internet users, with a penetration rate of 79.7%, and more people are benefiting from digital development. Emerging markets are flourishing, the practical application of artificial intelligence technology is accelerating, and global influence is steadily rising; meanwhile, technological innovation is driving high-quality economic and social development. On July 21, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the 56th *Statistical Report on Internet Development in China* (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") in Beijing. The Report indicates that significant achievements have been made in my country's internet infrastructure during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. The accelerated deployment of new information infrastructure and the continuous expansion of fundamental internet resources have provided solid support for the popularization of the internet and the growth of the digital economy.

"AI+" Infuses Industries with an Intelligent Core

The report indicates that my country achieved remarkable success in internet development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Over the past five years, the continuous expansion of foundational internet resources has enabled more users to share the fruits of digital development, accelerated the pace of industrial digital transformation, and provided robust support for the growth of the digital economy. my country has accelerated the implementation of the "AI+" initiative, driving the deployment of large-scale models across various sectors and enhancing their level of intelligence.
Liu Yulin, Director and Party Secretary of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), stated that the report illustrates how my country's digital economy is steadily progressing from the "Internet+" phase—characterized by broad connectivity—to the "AI+" phase, driven by innovation. While "Internet+" built the digital foundation for the interconnection of all things and accumulated valuable digital scenarios and data resources, "AI+" infuses industries with an intelligent core, unleashing new momentum for innovation.
Liu explained that "Internet+" solidified the digital foundation, laying the groundwork for the digital economy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, my country accelerated the upgrading of internet infrastructure and continuously expanded foundational resources. As of June, the number of ".CN" country-code top-level domains reached 20.85 million—ranking first globally for eleven consecutive years—thereby cementing the underlying foundation for the digital economy's vigorous growth.
"Internet+" has propelled industrial upgrading, enhancing quality and efficiency through the integration of the real and digital economies. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the internet accelerated the digital transformation and upgrading of industries, fostering deep integration between my country's real economy and digital economy. In the manufacturing sector, the adoption rate of digital R&D and design tools among industrial enterprises reached 84.1%. In the service sector, digital scenarios such as immersive cultural tourism, low-altitude delivery, and instant retail have continuously emerged, driving steady growth in digital consumption.
Furthermore, "Internet+" has promoted digital inclusion, ensuring that the benefits of development are shared by all. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, my country saw steady and rapid growth in its internet user base, alongside an accelerated narrowing of the digital divide. As of June, the number of internet users reached 1.123 billion, with an internet penetration rate of 79.7%—an increase of 9.3 percentage points since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Rural internet penetration reached 69.2%, up 13.3 percentage points from the start of the period. The internet usage rate among the elderly population has reached 52.0%, an increase of 8.7 percentage points since the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.
"Currently, my country is rapidly transitioning from 'Internet+' to 'AI+.' This process is both a strategic choice to proactively address global technological competition and an essential requirement for fostering a new development pattern," stated Liu Yulin.
Liu pointed out that "AI+" in manufacturing accelerates the shift toward intelligent operations. By deeply empowering the entire value chain—including R&D and design, production, and quality inspection—AI drives a qualitative leap in production efficiency, serving as a powerful engine for the manufacturing sector's transformation toward intelligence and sustainability.
"AI+" services are continuously shaping new business formats and application scenarios. A steady stream of Chinese AI products and services is emerging, covering areas such as collaborative office work, inclusive education, industrial design, and content creation, thereby significantly enhancing service efficiency in the smart product market.
"AI+" consumption is consistently cultivating new growth engines and market hotspots. There are now over 100 models of AI-enabled devices—such as smartphones, PCs, and glasses—on the market; in the past six months, 45.0% of online shoppers purchased smart products. "AI+" is fostering new drivers of consumption, becoming a fresh growth point for the economy.
"Looking ahead to the '15th Five-Year Plan' period, we are entering a phase of intense technological innovation. The transition from 'Internet+' to 'AI+' represents a continuous drive for innovation and development, enabling my country to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern and secure the initiative for future growth," Liu said.

Surge in the Number of Generative AI Products
The report indicates that in the first half of 2025, generative AI products advanced from the technology phase to practical application; the number of products grew rapidly, and application scenarios continued to expand.
Zhang Xiao, Deputy Director of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), noted that my country’s influence in the field of artificial intelligence has risen significantly. As of March, 346 generative AI services had completed filing with the Cyberspace Administration of China. The emergence of Chinese AI products has garnered global attention; for instance, less than 20 days after its launch, DeepSeek surpassed 30 million daily active users worldwide, topped app store rankings in 140 countries and regions, and became the fastest-growing generative AI application globally.
Meanwhile, generative AI technology is increasingly penetrating specific application scenarios. Regarding user adoption, Zhang Xiao highlighted that as of June, 80.9% of users utilized generative AI products to answer questions. On the industrial front, the scale of my country’s AI industry exceeded 700 billion yuan in 2024, maintaining a growth rate of over 20% for several consecutive years. Domestic AI products have achieved breakthroughs in areas such as parameter scale (reaching the 100-billion level) and multimodal capabilities; they have also deeply integrated with sectors like collaborative office work, inclusive education, industrial design, and content creation, thereby building an intelligent application ecosystem that spans multiple fields.
Furthermore, my country leads the world in the number of generative AI patents. Zhang Xiao cited a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) report showing that my country has become the world's largest holder of AI patents, accounting for 60% of the total. As of April 2025, my country’s AI patent applications totaled 1.576 million—representing 38.58% of global applications—ranking first worldwide. Concurrently, my country’s data production reached 41.06 zettabytes, a year-on-year increase of 25%; total national computing power reached 280 EFLOPS; and the volume of high-quality datasets grew by 27.4% year-on-year, providing robust support for the research, development, and training of AI models.
Zhang Xiao pointed out that as the innovation environment continues to improve, my country’s voice in the global AI landscape has grown significantly stronger. Looking ahead, China aims to further enhance its role in global AI governance, actively participate in and propose Chinese solutions, and commit to establishing fair and equitable global rules for AI governance.

AI Technology Fuels a Global "China Wave"

The report indicates that in the first half of 2025, my country's digital cultural and entertainment sector advanced on both domestic and international fronts. It continued to export cultural value globally while expanding integration with offline experiences, thereby injecting new momentum into the domestic cultural tourism market.
"Throughout the first half of 2025, AI technology continued to energize the cultural industry, helping the 'new trio' of cultural exports—online literature, games, and short dramas—gain popularity overseas and fueling a global 'China Wave,'" said Zhang Xiao.
In January, the General Office of the State Council issued a policy document on promoting high-quality cultural development. It explicitly called for accelerating the cultivation of internationally competitive cultural export enterprises—shifting from "borrowing a ship to go to sea" to "building a ship for the long voyage." Through strengthened policy guidance, an optimized market environment, and the growth of business entities, more cultural products with distinctive Chinese characteristics are reaching the global stage. Capabilities such as AI-generated text, images, and videos have vastly improved creative efficiency and accelerated the pace of global expansion.
Online literature has emerged as an innovative vehicle for going global. Zhang Xiao noted that in 2024, the market scale for exported online literature exceeded 5 billion yuan. The sector has cultivated 460,000 overseas online writers and amassed a user base of over 350 million across more than 200 countries and regions. Notably, the user base in Japan surged by 180%, making it a rapidly growing emerging market.
Chinese games and animation have resonated with global audiences. In April, the State Council released a work plan to accelerate the opening-up of the service sector, designating the development of game exports—and the strategic layout of the entire industry chain from IP creation to game production, publishing, and overseas operations—as a key strategic initiative. Zhang Xiao highlighted that in the gaming sector, the success of *Black Myth: Wukong* has earned international recognition for China's AAA game development capabilities. In animation, as of early May, the global box office for *Ne Zha* had surpassed 15.8 billion yuan, ranking fifth in global film history—a testament to the artistic appeal and immense potential of Chinese animation in the global market.
Micro-dramas have emerged as a new force in the export of film and television content. According to Zhang Xiao, as of March 2025, Chinese micro-dramas have reached over 200 countries and regions worldwide, establishing a market landscape centered on North America while extending to Europe, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. More than 300 apps dedicated to these micro-dramas have been launched overseas, with cumulative global downloads exceeding 470 million.
Meanwhile, online drama series are becoming deeply integrated with the tourism sector; for instance, canal-themed series have created a synergistic effect with tourism, driving a 40% increase in total visitor numbers to cities along the canals and a 215% year-on-year rise in homestay bookings. By integrating local government resources, platform traffic, and merchant assets, short-video platforms have built an online-to-offline consumption loop, attracting new customer traffic to a wider range of brick-and-mortar businesses.

Source: China Industry News Network