China to unseat Japan as Asia’s biggest IT consumer: study

China will soon surpass Japan as the biggest consumer of information technology hardware and services in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study by the International Data Corporation (IDC).

China's expenditure on IT is gradually approaching Japan's, and it will hit $173 billion in 2013 - about 4 per cent higher than Japan, according to the study published on 17 May and reported by the China Daily.

The report, published on May 17, the IDC attributes China's growth in IT consumption to growing consumer aspirations and government support for the sector.

Wu Lianfeng, assistant vice president of IDC China, said that driven by the popularity of intelligent terminals such as the latest mobile phones and tablet computers, China's personal consumption of IT products in 2012 will increase by 29.8 per cent year on year.

The growing need for terminals will inspire enterprises to develop more advanced IT, state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Wu as saying.

IDC China General Manager Huo Jinjie added that the central government will promote IT-based technologies during the next five years, which will bring more opportunities for the development of the IT market.

IDC is a global provider of market intelligence and advisory services for information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets.