Premier Li Keqiang holds discussion with economists and corporate leaders in Beijing on April 14 as the government began to release its major economic data in the first quarter this year.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]
Relevant authorities should try to bring down mobile data prices, Premier Li Keqiang said on April 14, during a discussion about China’s economy in the first quarter.
The Premier made the comments after Ding Lei, president of NetEase, a Chinese Internet company, said
that “expensive mobile data” may hinder the spread of knowledge, including online lectures and training, through the Internet.
The Premier said that when people go to a public place, they often want to know if there is free WI-FI, because mobile data is too expensive.
Hou Weigui, president of ZTE Corporation, a provider of telecommunications equipment and systems, said that greater efforts should be invested into the development of China’s telecommunications infrastructure to meet the “exponential increase” of mobile data usage.
Premier Li responded by asking officials of relevant authorities to speed up coordination concerning the construction of telecommunications infrastructure.
“China has great potential in the development of the infrastructure and upgrading the Internet bandwidth,” he said.
This is not the first time the Premier has talked about the country’s Internet bandwidth.
In a panel discussion of the Third Session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee on March 5, he said: “Construction of information infrastructure is an important public service. We should make greater efforts on it.”
