BEIJING — Residents in 98 percent of China's poor villages had access to the internet through fiber-optic cables as of June 2020, up from less than 70 percent in 2017, according to a report on China's internet development.

Meanwhile, people in 98 percent of poor villages in areas of extreme poverty have achieved broadband access, marking the early realization of broadband coverage in more than 90 percent of poor villages, one of the goals set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), said the report issued by the China Internet Network Information Center.

The report showed that the internet penetration rate in rural areas has reached 52.3 percent, up by 6.1 percentage points from March, with the urban-rural digital gap further narrowed.

According to data from the center, 47.1 percent of internet users have donated money online to help people in need as of June, up by 3.2 percentage points from the figure in March, and 34.6 percent have purchased agricultural products from impoverished areas online, an increase of 11.5 percentage points compared with the March figure, said the report.

The report also showed that more people recognized the role of the internet in providing assistance, jobs, educational and medical opportunities to people with difficulties, as well as e-commerce livestreaming's contribution in helping people from poor areas sell products.