In 2018, China's digital economy hit 31.3 trillion yuan, accounting for 34.8 percent of the country's GDP.

The turnover of China's e-commerce surged to 31.63 trillion yuan in 2018 from 2008's 3.14 trillion yuan, and online retail turnover increased from 0.13 trillion to 9 trillion yuan over those 10 years.

The spread of the internet promotes the country's e-commerce to rise, and also facilitates new driving forces for economic growth.

A number of Chinese internet firms came to the fore over the past 25 years including Sina, Netease, Sohu, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Jinri Toutiao, Meituan and Didi Chuxing.

A 5G-based remote driving system is one of the new experiences at this year's Light of the Internet Expo. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

China's information infrastructure has improved fast, going from 2G to 5G, building the world's largest fixed fiber network and 4G network, deploying internet Protocol version 6 and establishing a space-earth integration network.

China has made breakthroughs on some core internet technologies.

Basic general technology development is in a race to catch up with the rest of the world, including integrated circuit and operating system. At the same time, cutting-edge technology research is accelerating, including artificial intelligence, big data and Internet of Things. Moreover, a major breakthrough has been made in quantum communication and high-performance computing.

The internet changes Chinese people's daily life, satisfying many different demands. Traveling without cash, ridesharing and shooting short videos to share with friends have become an essential part of young Chinese people's lifestyle.