China now has more than 904 million internet users, according to a new report released by the state-run China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). And 99.3% of them, or 897 million people, go online with their mobile devices.
Most online applications saw huge growth because of the pandemic, CNNIC says. That includes online education, live streaming and mobile payment, which saw user numbers soar by 110.2%, 41.1% and 31.1% respectively. Unsurprisingly, travel booking, food delivery and ride hailing apps suffered a decline in users because of restrictions posed by the pandemic.
The biannual report says that thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, the average time spent online every week grew to 30.8 hours as of March 2020, 3.2 hours longer than the end of 2018. Of all applications, people spend the most time on instant messaging and online video apps.