China's Internet users go mobile

 BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- China is going mobile as mobile phones have overtaken desktop¹ computers as the primary source of Internet access in the country, a report showed Thursday.

Some 388 million Chinese were connected to the Internet through mobile phones as of the end of June, compared with 380 million people who connected through their desktops², according to a report released by the China Internet Networks Information Center (CNNIC).

"While mobile Internet grew fast, the utilization³ of desktops for Internet access has kept sliding," the report said. "A whole new pattern of Internet access is emerging in China."

Liu Bing, CNNIC deputy director, attributed the shift to cheaper smartphones that have become affordable⁴ to migrant workers and rural residents.

China surpassed the United States to become the world's largest smartphone market by volume in the third quarter of 2011, when smartphone shipments reached a record 24 million units in the country, according to data from U.S. market research company Strategy Analytics.

While global giants like Apple and Samsung Electronics dominate the high-end market, domestic smartphone makers⁵ such as Huawei and Xiaomi Technology have eyed middle- or low-end markets with lower-priced products.

The rapid expansion of the mobile Internet population has boosted mobile online payment, which in turn is expected to stimulate⁶ the development of mobile e-commerce.

About 44.4 million people used mobile phones to make online payments at the end of June, up 14 million from the end of last year, the CNNIC report said.

The government will promote the development of mobile Internet applications, commercialization of cloud-computing services and establishment of third-party e-commerce platforms, said Gao Sumei, an official with the Ministry⁷ of Industry and Information Technology.

China's e-commerce transaction value in 2015 is expected to reach 18 trillion yuan (2.85 trillion U.S. dollars), Gao forecasted.

China's online population exceeded that of the United States to top the world in 2008, with 24 out of every 100 Internet users being Chinese, Liu said.

The country's online population rose 10.9 percent year-on-year to hit 538 million by the end of June, meaning that four out of 10 Chinese are now Internet users, according to the CNNIC report.

In the first half of this year, the country's Internet users increased by 25 million.

There were 210 million online shoppers by June end, while 17.7 percent of China's Internet users were aged⁸ above 40 and 27.1 percent were rural dwellers⁹, the CNNIC data showed.

1 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

2 desktops   

桌面( desktop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You switch between these virtual desktops by clicking on the one you want to make active. 只需单击你所希望激活的桌面就可以在这些虚拟桌面之间进行切换。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Laptops outsell desktops for the first time in the United States. 膝上型电脑首次在美国销售量胜过桌上型电脑。

3 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》