China's software and information technology service industry maintained sound operational momentum in the first five months of this year, with software business revenue reaching 6.2451 trillion yuan (around 919 billion U.S. dollars), a 10.3 percent increase year on year, according to the data released Thursday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In the January to May period, the total profit of the software sector grew 2.2 percent year on year, while the sector's exports amounted to 27.65 billion dollars, up 12.8 percent from a year earlier.
Broken down by sector, software product revenue rose 6.9 percent year on year during the five-month period, accounting for 21.8 percent of the industry's total revenue, while revenue from information technology services continued to post double-digit growth.
China's software revenue up 10.3 percent in Jan-May
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday called on Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to remove restrictions on travel by mainland residents to Taiwan at an early date.
At a press briefing in Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, slammed the DPP's political manipulation in response to the Taiwan authorities' decision to reject applications from tourism operators in Shanghai Municipality and Fujian Province to conduct preparatory visits to Taiwan. The decision has drawn criticism from tourism operators and industry groups on the island.
"Promoting the resumption of travel by residents of Shanghai and Fujian to Taiwan is a positive step that aligns with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and will help promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. Preparatory visits are a routine industry practice to coordinate accommodation, tourist sites and reception arrangements, which are purely private, business-related exchange. However, the DPP authorities unilaterally demanded prior consultations through tourism bodies as a prerequisite and rejected the applications for preparatory visits to the island," Zhu said.
"Such a move is typical political manipulation and the creation of artificial barriers. The industry's call for less political manipulation and prioritizing tourism fully reflects the industry's dissatisfaction and opposition to the DPP authorities' deliberate politicization of cross-strait tourism and their disregard for the survival difficulties of tourism operators on the island and the livelihood demands of ordinary people," she said.
"We have upheld the vision that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family, promoted the resumption of travel by mainland residents to Taiwan and continued to extend goodwill. Since 2024, travel by residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Kinmen and Matsu has been restored," said the spokeswoman.
"If the DPP authorities truly care about the livelihoods of those in the tourism sector, they should lift the restrictions on mainland residents traveling to Taiwan at an early date," Zhu said.
Chinese mainland urges DPP authorities to lift travel restrictions on mainland residents
