GUIYANG, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The number of netizens in China had reached nearly 1.1 billion as of June this year, up by 7.42 million from the end of 2023, according to a report on China's internet development released Thursday.

Internet penetration in China had reached 78 percent by the end of June, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) report issued during the ongoing China International Big Data Industry Expo 2024 in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The country's internet industry maintained sound development momentum in the first half of the year. With an increasing number of people accessing the internet, the fast development of the country's digital economy would benefit more people, the report shows.

The growth of digital consumption helped boost domestic demand during the January-June period. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the country's online retail sales during the period surged 9.8 percent year on year to nearly 7.1 trillion yuan (about 995.7 billion U.S. dollars).

According to the report, more than five million inbound visitors used mobile payments in China during the first half of this year, marking a 400-percent increase from one year earlier.

This came after the country stepped up efforts to tackle payment difficulties faced by some foreign travelers who rely on bank cards or cash for transactions, whereas mobile payment habits predominate in China.