The fifth meeting of the National Leading Group on Informatization passed, in principle, a strategic plan for state informatization development (2006-2020), sources with the central government said Thursday.

The Informatization Leading Group under the State Council, headed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, serves as a task force that plans, coordinates and deliberates on development blueprints and policies of state informatization.

"Informatization is the mega-trend of world development and a key factor in promoting social and economic development and reform," Wen said at the meeting.

The meeting highlighted the components of China's informatization for the coming period, which falls into the following areas:

Adhering to the principle of serving the overall situation of modernization, promoting e-government and pushing forward the informatization of national defense;

Pushing forward the development of capacities for independent innovations;

Speeding up reforms and pushing ahead system and mechanism innovations, sticking to a market-oriented and demand-oriented direction;

Strengthening the infrastructure of informatization and enhancing the development abilities and social service functions;

Building an information security guarantee system;

Improving overall arrangements and properly coordinating important relations in the process of informatization;

And, strengthening talent training and improving the national informatization capacity.

The meeting also required related government branches to make full preparations for the implementation of the strategic plan.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)