China's Internet: How BIG Will it Get?

Filed in archive Internet on July 22, 2008

Analysys International thinks it will get bigger - MUCH bigger.

According to a report released yesterday by XFN-Asia, Analysis International expects there to be 600 million Internet users in China by 2010. I'm not sure what they base their estimate on, but we're talking about Internet access tripling in two years.

A couple of thoughts...

First, that is a huge market. Online retailing is growing by leaps and bounds. If that trend continues AND the number of people online triples, we're talking about a geometric progression of growth.

Second, I've talked before about the stability of China. I saw this piece recently on how 72% of Chinese people believe that the Internet will "become a tool for greater democracy" in China. In a country the size of China, with its history, political change always places stability at risk. So, what if they're right...?