BEIJING — The development of China's industrial internet will be accelerated this year with more jobs expected to be created in the sector, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The value-added output of China's industrial internet sector will likely reach 3.1 trillion yuan ($443 billion) in 2020, accounting for 2.9 percent of gross domestic product. The ratio compares with 1.5 percent in 2018 and 2.2 percent in 2019, said Xin Yongfei, director of the policy and economic research institute of the CAICT.

The expansion of the industry will also boost employment, creating some 2.55 million new jobs this year, he said.

China has been pushing for the development of the industrial internet as part of its efforts to breed fresh growth drivers. Last week, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pledged to upgrade the industrial internet network and speed up the construction of a national big data center for the industry.

The industrial internet usually refers to an integration of information technology and the manufacturing industry, constituting the internet infrastructures that connect people, devices and things.