In 2024, the Internet, AI and other digital technologies had boosted the development of the digital economy, facilitating the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy based on the foundation of the real economy. The application of the Internet in the transport and telecommunications, business services and cultural industries was growing deeper. New business forms and new scenarios were emerging, laying a more solid foundation for the digital-real integration.

Overall Development

In 2024, there was a growing number of Internet applications with more users. Online literature, online meal ordering, online payment and online travel booking saw the fastest growth in user size, up by 54.74 million, 47.77 million, 75.05 million and 39.35 million from December 2023, with growth rates of 10.5%, 8.8%, 7.9% and 7.7% respectively.

Table 5 User Size and Utilization Ratio of Internet Applications from Dec. 2023 to Dec. 2024

(Unit: 10,000 people; %)

Note: User scale refers to the number of users of each Internet application. Growth rate is calculated based on user scale.

Source: Statistical Survey on China’s Internet Development, December 2024.

³³ The user size of online video included micro-drama users by December 2024.

Basic Applications

As of December 2024, China had 1,081 million users of instant messaging, an increment of 21.7 million from December 2023, taking up 97.6% of all netizens.

As of December 2024, the number of search engine users reached 878 million, an increment of 51.12 million from December 2023, making up 79.2% of the total.

As of December 2024, China had 570 million online office users, an increment of 33.42 million from December 2023, taking up 51.5% of all netizens.

In 2024, China’s basic Internet applications continued to develop healthily, the functions were enhanced, and the commercial boundaries were extended. The revenue of information service providers continued increasing. According to the operation of the Internet and related service industries in the first three quarters of 2024, the Internet business revenue of news & information, search, social networking and other information service-based enterprises increased by 7.5% year-on-year³⁴.

The instant messaging industry has been enriching scenarios, enhancing user experience, and driving consumption and business revenue growth. First, it has worked to build a diversified industry eco-system. Tencent has enriched its industry ecosystem by building connections between WeChat, QQ and online games. Tencent’s Interim Financial Report 2024 indicated that over 30% year-on-year growth in total revenue came from mini games³⁵. The Financial Report Q3 2024 showed the game revenue from the international market grew by 9% on a year-on-year basis³⁶. Tencent has systematically built up its transaction capabilities to create a strong transaction and content ecosystem for the applet business, as well as to provide users with a more comfortable shopping experience. In the third quarter, the turnover of applets exceeded RMB trillion, up by over ten percentage points year-on-year³⁷. Second, the e-commerce business was an important source of revenue. The Channels in WeChat has continued to increase commodity categories and encouraged more content creators to participate in live selling, improving the e-commerce ecosystem. The year of 2024 saw the significant year-on-year growth in the total number of usage hours on Channels, with total hours up by more than 80% year-on-year in the first quarter³⁸. The Channels contributed substantial revenue³⁹.

The search engine industry, driven by emerging technological innovations, has optimized the effectiveness of services and promoted the diversified development of market players. First, AI technologies have empowered smart search. As generative AI technology continues to evolve, the traditional search engine industry has focused more on improving smart and personalized services. The AI functions of Baidu App covered nearly 70% of its monthly users and more than 20% of search result pages included AI-generated content⁴⁰. For personalized services, Baidu launched its AgentBuilder, with over 100,000 smart agents applying the commercial component. It achieved a 395% increase in the number of smart agents gaining revenue⁴¹. Second, content platforms have emerged as a new force in the industry. E-commerce and social networking platforms have paid more attention to building the search business based on the content ecosystem and relying on the search business to improve revenue conversion. They have served as an important new force in this industry. Sina Weibo released the Zhiwei model, developed the Smart Search scenario, and helped netizens to quickly understand the content of popular searches according to general data and special data like real-time hot topics, story lines and Internet buzzwords. In March 2024, Tencent’s financial report showed that WeChat Search daily active users exceeded 100 million and the search volume grew by more than 30% year-on-year. The search ads also delivered a multi-fold increase in yearly revenue⁴². Over 500 million users utilized Kuaishou Search on a monthly basis in Q3 2024. The average daily searches surpassed 700 million, up by an increase margin of over 20.0% year-on-year. The peak of single-day searches also exceeded 800 million⁴³. On the Xiaohongshu website, 70% of monthly active users conducted searches with six times on a daily basis. The first thing that one-third of users opened the app was to search⁴⁴.

The online office industry has demonstrated a smart development trend and enhanced its business potential through the payment model. First, large models have boosted smart development. In 2024, AI technologies promoted innovation and development in the online office industry. They optimized office efficiency and enhanced user experience in multiple aspects like content generation, text processing and summary abstracts. Take DingTalk as an example. As of January, DingTalk had 20-plus product lines and over 80 scenarios to access large models, with 700,000 enterprises using DingTalk services⁴⁵. In June, DingTalk announced its opening to all large model vendors to build China’s most open AI ecosystem. In addition to the large model Tongyi, MiniMax, Moonshot and another four large model makers have also partnered with DingTalk⁴⁶. Second, the payment model became an important revenue source. As of January 9, over 300,000 three-party payment enterprises and more than 100 million three-party payment accounts⁴⁷ were registered on the enterprise-version WeChat. The subscription revenue of the software Feishu exceeded USD 200 million in 2023, doubling the 2022 revenue. It was growing at a high rate in 2024⁴⁸ and expected to surpass USD 300 million⁴⁹.

The social networking industry has enriched the content ecosystem, explored the new trend of AI social network, and fostered the diversified development of the industry ecosystem. First, social networking applications have been the major channel for netizens to obtain information. By December 2024, China had 1,101 million social networking users, accounting for 99.3% of the total. Social networking has been the main channel for netizens to get information. 44.7% of Internet users paid attention to the information on traveling, shopping and local life. 23% of the TikTok live streamers registered in the first half of 2024 focused on the life segment⁵⁰. Xiaohongshu has become an important promotion channel for cultural and travel content, with more than 2.21 million travel notes posted during China’s 2024 National Day holidays, an increase of 11.8% year-on-year. It attracted 4.7 billion views⁵¹. 47.6% of Internet users paid attention to information on sports, business and science & technology. With the 33rd Olympic Games held in Paris, Internet users paid more attention to sports topics. During the Paris Olympics, there were more than 4 billion interactions of Olympic-related topics on the five major social media platforms, namely Weibo, TikTok, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and Kuaishou⁵². Second, multiple platforms have continued to explore the new trend of AI-based social networking. Sina Weibo has developed several applications for scenarios with AI technologies such as comment bots, virtual character generation for dramas and variety shows, and AI assistants for bloggers. Commentator Robert, a smart robot, interacted with users in a fun and warm style to improve users’ stickiness and activity. The role generation model could use data to generate virtual characters and provide fans with personalized replies and comments. Tencent launched AI chat partners based on the classic social product QQ, offering various types of virtual characters including companionship, stories, challenges, MBTI⁵³, and celebrities. Users could have real-time conversations with these characters and enjoy personalized social experience⁵⁴. ByteDance unveiled the AI-based social app BagelBell, which can provide technical services with interactive entertainment content as its core function⁵⁵. Baidu released the WanHua app and the overseas AI-based social app SynClub. They were developed through AI technology to provide emotional companionship and social interaction. They aimed at in-depth communication with users through AI virtual characters. Soul, a smart social app, explored the integration of AI and social interaction through its smart dialog robot Goudan to provide personalized communication experience for young users⁵⁶.

Business Transaction Applications

Up to December 2024, the number of China’s online shopping users reached 974 million, an increase of 59.47 million from December 2023, accounting for 87.9% of the total.

As of December 2024, the number of online payment users was 1,029 million, an increase of 75.05 million from December 2023, representing 92.8% of the total.

By December 2024, the number of online meal ordering users was 592 million, an increase of 47.77 million from December 2023, accounting for 53.4% of the total.

In 2024, e-commerce trade applications showcased innovation vitality. There were highlights like trade-in programs on e-commerce platforms, connectivity on payment platforms and drone-based meal delivery on online meal ordering platforms. With their distinctive advantages and new models, online shopping, online payment and online meal ordering have facilitated the innovation and upgrading of business circulation, the healthy development of platform economy and the vitality release of digital-real integration.

Online shopping presented a sustained growth trend, promoting consumption expansion and upgrading. In 2024, the e-commerce industry achieved fast development. Trade-in and cross-border e-commerce became important factors. First, trade-in of consumer goods yielded new results. Policies and measures for increasing domestic demand and motivating consumption have been introduced one after another to encourage the sales growth of 3C digital and home appliances. E-commerce platform enterprises have vigorously promoted the trade-in model to achieve a win-win situation for economic and social benefits. During the Jun.18 promotion period, JD.com collaborated with more than 20 provincial and municipal governments to increase consumer subsidies, with the turnover of home appliances in seven provinces or cities, including Beijing and Hebei, increasing by over 100% year-on-year⁵⁷. During the Nov.11 promotion period, government subsidies and the discounts stimulated the first-hour turnover of Tmall’s home appliances by 765% year-on-year⁵⁸. The trade-in policy provided economic benefits to consumers and promoted the consumer market obviously. Second, cross-border e-commerce injected new vitality into foreign trade development. In the first three quarters, China’s cross-border e-commerce import and export was RMB 1.88 trillion, up by 11.5% year-on-year⁵⁹. Cross-border e-commerce has become a vital force in China’s foreign trade development. The live streaming base of cross-border e-commerce helped Chinese brands go global. Enterprises have used platforms such as TikTok Shop to promote their products among consumers worldwide through short video and live streaming. The e-commerce platform conducted technological innovation to help cross-border e-commerce develop. The AI business assistant of Alibaba.com has offered product release, marketing and promotion for the international expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises. As of October, AI business assistants for domestic sellers had 45,000 users⁶⁰.

The online payment environment has been optimized consistently and new services have benefited more people. In 2024, the interconnection of online payment developed rapidly and more service innovations were realized. First, progress has been made in the interconnection between platforms. Internet payment agencies have carried forward interconnection. All kinds of bar codes have made progress in mutual recognition and scanning, which has guaranteed netizens’ right to choose online payment. In September, Taobao and Tmall released Solicitation of Opinions on Taobao’s New WeChat Payment Capability and Solicitation of Opinions on Tmall’s New WeChat Payment Capability respectively. The interconnection between e-commerce platforms went deeper and the consumer experience has been continuously enhanced. Alipay, WeChat Pay and China Unionpay Quick Pass have realized mutual recognition and scanning of offline barcodes and promoted the interconnection of online and offline multi-scenario payment. By October, 85% of Taobao shops supported consumers in paying through China UnionPay Quick Pass⁶¹. Second, the new payment method has been more convenient. The user’s convenient payment experience has been improving, bringing about more new consumption experiences. In July, Alipay launched the touch-it payment service. A user does not need to show the payment code, but unlocks the phone and touches the shopman’s payment device to complete the payment. Quick pay has become a new way for retailers to operate their cash registers and memberships. As of September 6, the touch-it payment served 50-plus cities including Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan, Changsha, Hangzhou and Qingdao⁶², bringing more new opportunities for shopmen. Huawei, Xiaomi and other mobile phone manufacturers have accessed the touch-it function. All parties are working together to promote the touch-it ecosystem.

The online meal ordering technology has been developed to improve efficiency and the delivery service model has been iteratively upgraded. In 2024, instant delivery sped up technological innovation and online meal order delivery explored new models. First, digital technology supported the growth of instant delivery business. According to the data, the Q3 number of Meituan instant delivery transactions reached 7.078 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.5%⁶³. Online meal ordering companies have optimized their scheduling systems based on big data and AI technology to deal with problems like order backlogs and delivery delays during peak hours, and to guarantee the timeliness, accuracy and safety of instant delivery. Meituan has expedited technique and data collaboration with property management companies to create a rider-friendly solution, where riders can use WeChat to scan the property applet code at the entrance of a community to make one-key registration and instant verification. Such efforts can improve the efficiency of rider delivery. Second, drone-based meal delivery became a new model. Drone-based delivery routes have been opened at a fast pace, boosting the new development of low-altitude economy. Meituan has carried out drone deliveries in multiple scenarios such as communities, scenic spots, municipal parks, and campuses to meet the timeliness needs of consumers. As of September, Meituan drones opened 53 routes in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities, completing over 400,000 orders⁶⁴. During the National Day Golden Week, Meituan drones opened a new delivery route in the South Fifth Tower area of Badaling Great Wall. The average daily orders increased by more than 1,100% compared with the pre-holiday weekend period, with Chinese and Western-style simple meals and beverages becoming hot-selling items⁶⁵.

Footnotes

³⁴ China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/yxj/xxfb/art/2024/art_42faa762420a4d1ab7160c4d5f1f7b8f.html, October 31, 2024.

³⁵ Tencent’s Interim Financial Report 2024, https://static.www.tencent.com/uploads/2024/08/27/921cf1c0c56a51dd08ee318678b3bb08.pdf, August 14, 2024.

³⁶ Tencent’s Financial Report Q3 2024, https://static.www.tencent.com/uploads/2024/11/13/309f975d755016a10be34254968a1651.pdf, November 13, 2024.

³⁷ Tencent’s Financial Report Q3 2024, https://static.www.tencent.com/uploads/2024/11/13/309f975d755016a10be34254968a1651.pdf, November 13, 2024.

³⁸ Tencent’s Financial Report Q1 2024, https://static.www.tencent.com/uploads/2024/05/14/eef7133794cd389f7a031dbac92f2e4f.pdf, May 14, 2024.

³⁹ ThePaper.cn, https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_27607077, June 3, 2024.

⁴⁰ Yicai, https://www.yicai.com/news/102369201.html, November 21, 2024.

⁴¹ Xinhuanet, https://www.xinhuanet.com/tech/20241121/dbda2471b1374eb6b4d3757e7d5f539c/c.html, November 21, 2024.

⁴² 36Kr, https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20240321A04DG700, March 21, 2024.

⁴³ Kuaishou Technology Releases Unaudited Financial Results Q3 2024, https://ir.kuaishou.com/zh-hans/news-releases/news-release-details/kuaishoukejifabu2024niandisanjiduweijingshenhecaiwuyeji, November 20, 2024.

⁴⁴ Xiaohongshu Search Report, https://aigc.idigital.com.cn/djyanbao/【DT 研究院%2C 第一财经研究院】2024小红书 10 大搜索趋势洞察报告-2024-08-07.pdf, August 7, 2024.

⁴⁵ WeChat official account of DingTalk, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ytTjhXBcygCiVVTW_S2MgQ, January 9, 2024.

⁴⁶ Yicai, https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20240626A0A7CU00, June 26, 2024.

⁴⁷ Yicai, https://www.yicai.com/news/101951383.html, January 9, 2024.

⁴⁸ Caijing, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/QDUBrNmyEZCrRY86TO-sKA, September 5, 2024.

⁴⁹ Jiemian News, https://m.jiemian.com/article/11674929.html, September 4, 2024.

⁵⁰ Feigua, https://dy.feigua.cn/article/detail/912.html, July 31, 2024.

⁵¹ Gmw.cn, https://travel.gmw.cn/2024-10/18/content_37622773.htm, October 18, 2024.

⁵² 36Kr, https://36kr.com/p/2908135522507392, August 16, 2024.

⁵³ MBTI refers to Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, a theoretical model of personality test developed by Isabel Myers and Kathryn Briggs.

⁵⁴ Tencent, https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20240306A09PR500, March 6, 2024.

⁵⁵ 36Kr, https://www.36kr.com/p/2716214611769218, April 2, 2024.

⁵⁶ ThePaper.cn, https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_26365322, February 16, 2024.

⁵⁷ Xinhuanet, http://www.news.cn/fortune/20240620/460e363f69f04015ad99d1b89bdc8990/c.html, June 20, 2024.

⁵⁸ CNR News, https://tech.cnr.cn/ycbd/20241014/t20241014_526939704.shtml, October 14, 2024.

⁵⁹ China’s State Council, https://www.gov.cn/lianbo/bumen/202410/content_6980300.htm, October 14, 2024.

⁶⁰ STCN, http://egs.stcn.com/news/detail/1892429.html, October 22, 2024.

⁶¹ Gmw.cn, https://m.gmw.cn/baijia/2021-10/15/1302640046.html, October 15, 2024.

⁶² Ant Group, https://www.antgroup.com/news-media/press-releases/1725616800000, September 6, 2024.

⁶³ Meituan’s Financial Report Q3 2024, https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/1129/2024112900544_c.pdf.

⁶⁴ Meituan’s Financial Report Q3 2024, https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/1129/2024112900544_c.pdf.

⁶⁵ Media report on Meituan drones during National Day Golden Week (Badaling Great Wall South Fifth Tower area), 2024.