Information technology will play a significant role in China's social and economic development in the coming years, a Chinese official said Wednesday.

Addressing a national conference on the application of information technology in Beijing, Qu Weizhi, executive vice-director of Chinese Government's information technology taskforce, said promoting the development and use of information technology is essential for China's sustainable social and economic development.

She said China will integrate information technology into various sectors of its economy to improve quality of its products and reduce use of raw materials and energy, and optimize its industrial mix through the use of information technology.

The sectors include the agriculture, machinery-building, metallurgical, energy and petrochemical industries.

Information technology will therefore enable China to raise the efficiency of raw materials and energy, easing the pressure of fast-growing economy on environment, Qu said.

A growing number of Chinese citizens will be able to share its scientific, educational, cultural and medical resources through information technology, and on-line education will be made available to all citizens through the Internet, he said.

China will continue to attach great importance to the development of electronic public services, or E-government, and electronic commerce.

Qu said the country will improve the information technology infrastructure in rural and remote areas so that residents will have access to the country's scientific, educational, cultural and medical services and other public services the government provides.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2004)