Chinese Internet penetration hits 50% – overtakes US as largest online retail market

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has released its 37th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China. The report states that, as of December 2015, China had 688 million internet users, accounting for half of the total population of the country, with an internet penetration rate of 50.3%. As recently as 2005, China internet penetration was a mere 8.5%.