BEIJING, Jan. 27 -- China's telecommunication industry logged steady expansion in 2023, driven by emerging businesses, official data showed.

The combined business revenue of firms in the sector totaled 1.68 trillion yuan (about 236 billion U.S. dollars) last year, rising 6.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Emerging sectors such as big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things continued to post strong performances, with total revenue climbing 19.1 percent year on year in 2023.

Specifically, revenue from cloud computing and big data both surged 37.5 percent year on year while revenue from the Internet of Things increased 20.3 percent compared to the 2022 level.