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More People in China Now Go Online With Mobile Devices Than PCs

The number of China's internet users going online with a mobile device -- such as a smartphone or tablet -- has overtaken those doing so with a PC.
A man looks at the screen of his mobile phone at Pudong financial district in Shanghai
A man looks at the screen of his mobile phone at Pudong financial district in Shanghai July 8, 2013.Carlos Barria / Reuters, file

The number of China's internet users going online with a mobile device -- such as a smartphone or tablet -- has overtaken those doing so with a personal computer (PC) for the first time, said the official China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) on Monday. China's total number of internet users crept up 2.3 percent to 632 million by the end of June, from 618 million at the end of 2013, said CNNIC's internet development statistics report. Of those, 527 million -- or 83 percent -- went online via mobile. Those doing so with a PC made up 81 percent of the total. China is the largest smartphone market in the world, and by 2018 is likely to account for nearly one-third of the expected 1.8 billion smartphones shipped that year, according to data firm IDC. The increase in internet users was mainly driven by mobile, which grew 5.4 percent from the 500 million users at the end of 2013. The number of mobile shoppers surged 42 percent from December through June.

IN-DEPTH

--- Reuters