"This is not an expedient measure, it is a long-term strategy beneficial to the healthy development of the information industry, " said Zhang Chunjiang, vice minister of the Information Industry, in a keynote speech delivered to a symposium on the value-added telecommunications service.

"On one hand, we value the major role large telecom enterprises play in the national economic development, on the other hand, the participation of small and medium-sized telecom businesses should be given sufficient emphasis," he noted.

Statistics show that there are more than 3,000 small and medium- sized enterprises operating value-added telecommunications businesses on the Chinese mainland.

Zhang said that although competition does exist between major telecom enterprises running basic telecom services and those running value-added telecom services, in most cases, the latter complements and enriches the former.

Such enterprises will offer colorful and personalized services to meet diversified needs, while on the other hand, their participation will help basic telecom giants lower costs, avoid risks and sharpen their competitiveness, participants to the symposium said.

According to the regulations on telecommunications administration promulgated by the State Council last September, telecommunications services are divided into two categories, namely the basic telecommunications services and value-added services.

The former includes local phone-calls, domestic long-distance phone-calls, international phone services and mobile phone services, while the latter covers Internet content supply, e-mail, databases, fax, and teleconference services.

(People's Daily 09/23/2001)