AI to boost growth of China's ICT sector in 2025: report

China's information and communications technology (ICT) industry will maintain growth in 2025, with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a major booster to the sector, according to a forecast report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) on Monday.

The latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) indicated steady growth in China's telecom sector in the first 11 months of 2024, with telecom revenues and total business volume rising by 2.6 percent and 10 percent year on year, respectively.

On Monday, the CAICT shared its forecast for 2025, predicting that the information and communications industry will sustain its growth trend, with the AI Plus initiative exerting more and more effects.

The country's government work report released in March this year unveiled an AI Plus initiative, a strategic move designed to propel the digital economy's expansion and spearhead the transformation and modernization of manufacturing sectors.

In an interview with China Central Television, Wang Zhiqin, vice president of the CAICT, said AI will continue drive the development of the relevant sectors going forward.

"In the next three years, China's ICT industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8 percent. AI development has driven the advancement of computing power, chips, commuting terminals and AI networks. We hope the AI Plus initiative will lead to the establishment of pilot projects in key industries and scenarios," she said.

The Central Economic Work Conference held in mid December said the country will launch the AI Plus initiative next year.

Industry experts say they believe this initiative will first target sectors with abundant data conditions, such as research, industrial manufacturing, Internet of Vehicles and healthcare.

MIIT officials revealed that China's computing power now ranks the second globally, with intelligent computing accounting for more than 30 percent of the total.

"We will make forward-thinking arrangements for cutting-edge technologies such as 6G, AI and quantum information to promote in-depth integration of industrial big models at all stages, including research and development, production, pilot testing, service, and management, helping enterprises in achieving smart transformation, digital upgrades and network connectivity," said Zhang Yunming, Vice Minister of the MIIT.

Furthermore, experts pointed out that the widespread application of AI will place higher demands on network infrastructure. A major focus for the upcoming year will be the development of intelligent computing wide-area networks, which are crucial for supporting AI-driven innovations.

AI to boost growth of China's ICT sector in 2025: report

The escalated Israeli military operations have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza Strip, with most humanitarian aid to people in multiple besieged areas denied, according to a report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday.

Since October 6, the Israeli forces have intensified military operations in northern Gaza. They recently entered the Indonesian Hospital, forcing medical workers to evacuate, said the report.

Al Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals, the only remaining functioning medical institutions in northern Gaza, have been hit recently as well amid urgent need for food and water provision.

The OCHA also reported that the Israeli forces have continued to impose a tightened siege on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and parts of Jabalya, with humanitarian assistance largely denied by the Israeli authorities over the past nearly 80 days.

At present, around 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is under active Israeli-issued evacuation orders.

Thousands of people there have no access to food, water, electricity and health care, and millions are at risk of being left without shelter during the cold winter months.

According to data released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 10,000 children in Gaza have been killed since the outbreak of the current round of the Israel-Hamas conflict, indicating that a Palestinian child is being killed every hour by Israeli troops, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

In addition to the threat to their lives, the surviving children in the Gaza Strip have been deprived of the opportunity to study and have to struggle to survive in the ruins, with their physical and mental health seriously harmed.

Those children in Gaza are losing their lives, their future and their hope, said the statement.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against an attack by the former on the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had risen to 45,338, with 107,764 others injured, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

Escalated Israeli military operations exacerbate humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza: OCHA