China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) today (29th) released the 54th Statistical Report on the Development of Internet in China (hereinafter referred to as the Report). The Report shows that as of June 2024, the number of Internet users in China is nearly 1.1 billion (1.09967 billion), an increase of 7.42 million over December 2023, and the Internet penetration rate is 78.0%. In the first half of the year, China's Internet industry maintained a good momentum of development. Internet basic resources laid a solid foundation for development. Digital consumption stimulated domestic demand potential, digital applications unleashed innovative vitality, and more people accessed the Internet to share the convenience and dividends of the digital era. The Internet basic resources continue to be rich, and the cornerstone role is increasingly prominent. The Report shows that in the first half of the year, the Internet basic resources, such as domain names and IP addresses, continue to be rich, providing solid support for the operation and vigorous development of the Internet industry. One is the continuous promotion of large-scale deployment and application of IPv6. As of June, the number of IPv6 addresses was 69080 blocks/32, an increase of 1.5% compared to December 2023; By May, the number of active IPv6 users had reached 794 million, mobile network IPv6 traffic accounted for 64.56%, and the IPv6 support rate of major commercial websites and mobile Internet applications had reached 90%. Secondly, the number of national top-level domain names has ranked first in the world for ten consecutive years. As of June, the total number of domain names in China was 31.87 million, of which the number of top-level domain names ". CN" was 19.56 million, accounting for 61.4% of the total number of domain names, ranking first in the world for ten consecutive years. Teenagers and the "silver haired generation" have become the new main force, and short videos have the strongest ability to attract new users. The report shows that in the first half of the year, China's digital information infrastructure continued to be stable, and digital services benefiting the people were widely carried out, effectively promoting the growth of the number of netizens. Firstly, teenagers and the "silver haired generation" are important sources of new internet users. With the continuous improvement of digital aging services and the accelerated popularization of network applications, multiple measures are being taken to promote more people to constantly "access the internet". Data shows that China has added 7.42 million new internet users, mainly consisting of teenagers aged 10-19 and the "silver haired generation". Among them, teenagers accounted for 49.0% of the newly added netizens, while the groups aged 50-59 and 60 and above accounted for 15.2% and 20.8% of the newly added netizens, respectively. The second is that short videos have become an important application for new internet users to access the internet. Among the newly added netizens, the demand for entertainment and social networking can most stimulate netizens to surf the Internet. Among the Internet applications used by this group for the first time, short video applications account for 37.3%. In addition, instant messaging also showed a certain ability to "pull new", accounting for 12.6% of new Internet users who used Internet applications for the first time. The trade in of old goods and online service consumption have become increasingly popular, unleashing the potential of domestic demand. The report shows that in the first half of the year, trade in of old goods and online service consumption have become consumption highlights. One is the online trade in activity, which is very popular. In the first half of the year, e-commerce platforms actively cooperated with the "trade in" policy, helping to implement the policy by increasing subsidies, simplifying processes, and improving logistics, promoting consumption conversion and upgrading. Data shows that 68.8% of netizens who participated in the "trade in" consumer activity in the past six months chose to participate online. Among them, traditional household appliances such as mobile phones, digital devices, and washing machines have the highest proportion of "trade in" consumption, accounting for 28.8% and 23.7% of relevant consumer users, respectively. Secondly, the consumption of online life services is becoming increasingly popular. With the increasing richness of online service scenarios, more and more users are enjoying the convenience of life services through online means. As of June, users who have purchased online services such as takeaway, in store dining, movies, and leisure entertainment accounted for 50.3%, 20.7%, and 17.3% of netizens, respectively. Mobile payments are becoming increasingly convenient, and "old" and "foreign" can enjoy new payment experiences. The report shows that in the first half of the year, with the deepening implementation of a series of payment convenience measures, the degree of mobile payment convenience has continued to improve. One is the continuous improvement of mobile payment services for the elderly population. All parties in the mobile payment industry are actively promoting aging friendly upgrades, improving the mobile payment service experience for the elderly through simplified processes, increased language broadcasting, and other means, and promoting the popularization of mobile payments for the elderly. As of June, the usage rate of online payments among Chinese netizens aged 60 and above has reached 75.4%. Secondly, mobile payments for foreign nationals coming to China are becoming increasingly convenient. We will continue to optimize the payment convenience for foreign visitors to China through innovative mobile payment services such as "outsourcing internal use" and "external card internal binding". In the first half of the year, over 5 million inbound personnel used mobile payments, a four fold increase compared to the same period last year; There were over 90 million transactions with a total amount of more than 14 billion yuan, all of which increased sevenfold year-on-year. The online video industry is booming, and micro dramas are gradually moving towards standardization. The report shows that in the first half of the year, with the continuous growth of users' demand for high-quality content and the continuous optimization of the industry environment, the online video industry has shown a vigorous development momentum. One is the continuous improvement of the compliance level in the micro drama industry. With the successive introduction of industry guidance policies, the creation and production of micro dramas are moving towards standardization. According to the report, as of June, users of micro dramas accounted for 52.4% of the total number of netizens. Secondly, the short video industry continues to thrive. With the continuous increase in user stickiness on short video platforms, the short video e-commerce business is steadily developing, and the commercial monetization efficiency continues to improve. As of June, short video users accounted for 95.5% of the total internet users. The third is to improve the quality and efficiency of the long video industry. The trend of industry quality improvement continues, with video series such as "My Altay" and "Blooming Flowers" having both popularity and reputation, bringing users a high-quality audio-visual experience. As of June, long video users accounted for 65.2% of the total internet users. (New Society)