Rural Informatization in China (World Bank Working Papers)

China s recent economic growth has expanded industrialization and urbanization, upgraded consumption, increased social mobility, and initiated a shift from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry and services. However, more than half of China s people still live in rural areas where average income per capita is less than a third of the urban average. China has adopted a new development paradigm in its 11th Five-Year Plan (covering 2006 11), emphasizing the building of a Harmonious Society (he xie she hui) with more balanced development across regions. The new development paradigm adopts a scientific view of the development process that emphasizes sustainable growth and people-centered. The government has increased its commitment to pro-poor, pro-rural programs, with attention being turned toward relative poverty reduction and narrowing the rural-urban income divide. Informatization defined as the transformation of an economy and society driven by information and communications technology (ICT) is increasingly being explored as a way of helping poor people.