Central Internet Security and Informatization Leading Group

The central Internet security and informatization leading group (中央网络安全和信息化领导小组) is a top CPC panel on internet security and promoting Internet technologies.

Established on Feb. 27, 2014, the group is designed to lead and coordinate Internet security and informatization work among different sectors, as well as draft national strategies, development plans and major policies in this field.

Informatization refers to the extent by which a geographical area, an economy or a society is becoming information-based.

China has the world's largest number of Internet users but it still lags behind in development of Internet technologies. The digital gap between rural and urban areas remains large and the average bandwidth enjoyed by each Chinese is far less than that in some developed countries.

By the end of 2013, China reported about 618 million Internet users, but only 28.6 percent of them live in the countryside.