City IT in line with world's best

Shanghai and Beijing ranked equal first on the Chinese mainland for city information development while Shanghai's IT infrastructure was deemed in line with global advanced levels, officials said at an Asia-Pacific Region Forum yesterday.

An survey, conducted for the forum by the China Computer Users Association, covered 280 cities on the Chinese mainland and ranked cities on IT infrastructure, IT application, IT environment and e-government forums.

"Shanghai has occupied top position for a long period and Beijing lifted its position as it invested heavily to improve IT infrastructure for the Olympics," said the association's president Chen Zhengqing. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Qingdao were placed behind Shanghai and Beijing, Chen added.

China's government bureaus are transforming themselves through information technology, with the e-government level of some cities up with that of developed countries, according to Accenture, a United States-based consulting firm.

In a separate survey, Shanghai's e-government services rank top among all province-level regions, followed by Beijing, Guangdong Province, Shandong Province and Tianjin, according to Shanghai Internet Economy Consulting Center. Western regions still lag behind the coast, but the gap is narrowing, according to Bruce Liang, Accenture China's vice president.

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