The information & communications technological system of China

The aim of this paper is to study the information and communications technological system (ICTS) of China from a sectoral, system perspective. The main relationships within and between the building blocks constituting the ICTS are mapped and evaluated from three aspects: the domestic sectoral relationships, the innovative capability and the international trade advantage. The ICT´s most important downstream relationships have extended from manufacturing sectors to construction and service sectors, showing a more widely use. Both of ICT export value and relative bilateral advantages in the main import countries have increased rapidly since 2002. Although the patents number and share have increased rapidly at the same time, there is no relative technological advantage in Chinese ICT. When other ICT leaders are considered together, it shows an interesting convergence of the technology specialization. The inconsistency of the trade advantage and technology disadvantage indicates that low technology involved in Chinese ICT products. It is a great challenge for China to transit from low-cost manufacturing to higher value-added goods and services.