China - strong consumer indices do not make up for continued weak business scores

China has an uneven yet moderate performance on the Connectivity Scorecard 2010, slipping two places to 17th position. Good scores in the consumer category are offset by lackluster performance in the business segment. The “per capita” measures used in the Scorecard also contribute negatively to the score of the world’s most populous country.

China has an impressive broadband and fixed-line penetration compared to most other resource and efficiency-driven economies. It also performs well in consumer usage and skills category on account of its high literacy levels and good internet usage. However, the country performs weakly in the business category, with a low penetration of secure internet servers and limited availability of international internet bandwidth. China also reports moderate international voice traffic and IT services spending by its enterprise sector.

The country, therefore, needs to emulate its strong performance in the consumer category to strengthen its business infrastructure. This will also help it bridge the gap with its BRIC peers Russia, and Brazil, ranked fifth and sixth respectively on the Connectivity Scorecard.

China Connectivity Performance by Scorecard Component