Annotated bibliography on the role of Information and Communication technologies for rural development in China
By Sara Ansary
Provided below are varying reports, articles, documents and a PowerPoint presentation relevant to rural development in China through the use of ICTs. A few of the links serve as an introductory or general read on China itself, and ICT for rural development, the rest focus more on what is happening in China, for example projects, trends, impacts etc. It is important to note the Chinese government seek to restrict the use of the Internet amongst its citizens, which could prove challenging in the successful implementation and sustainability of ICTs in not only rural development in China, but other areas of development too; papers on this issue are also provided below.
“Millennium Development Goals: China’s progress, 2003”
Available at:
This document shows the progress China is undergoing in achieving the set MDGs.
“China's Comprehensive Approach to Poverty Reduction” (Liu Jian)
Available at: www1.worldbank.org/devoutreach/article.asp?id=267
This report addresses the issues and origins surrounding poverty in China, it discusses the leading role of the government, social participation, self-reliance of the poor, development-based poverty reduction, coordinated development, and the challenges ahead.
“Poor connections: Trouble on the Internet Frontiers”
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This RAND online article summarizes the results of several years of work, including linked workshop reports, on e-development in China, Russia, Latin America, and parts of the Middle East. In relation to China, this report highlights the restrictions on Internet use posed by the Chinese government.
“Between Democracy and Development: The Impact of New Information Technologies On Civil Society in China"
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This paper briefly addresses the role of new information technologies on development and democracy in China; and policy implications.
“Who lost China’s Internet?”
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An article describing how Chinese government has used the technology to monitor and restrict Internet usage, according to its needs.
“Providing low-cost ICT access to rural communities in developing countries: what works, what pays?”
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“Rural areas of the developing world are the last frontier of the information technology revolution. Telephone and internet penetration there remains a small fraction of what it is in the developed world. Limited means of electronic communication with the outside world are just one source of isolation of rural communities and economies from the forces of national and global integration, albeit an important one. Without roads and electricity the benefits of extending ICT access would be greatly diminished.”
This paper draws from rural household surveys and notes the value of timely information being just as important to those in rural areas as it is in urban areas. The paper discusses the benefit of ICT in rural communities, and outlines the main challenges for ICT infrastructure. It also suggests policy instruments to be used in rapid ICT diffusion.
“Information Technologies to Serve the Poor: How Rural Areas Can Benefit from the Communications Revolution”
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“Modern information and communications technologies (ICTs) hold great promises for developing countries. However, if they are to benefit the poor their introduction must be carefully examined. This article shows several models of affordable access to ICTs which have been tried in various parts of the developing world”
This piece discusses the benefits to be had through the use of ICTs to rural households; talks about electronic mail systems for individual villagers, and the need for ICT training.
“Funds for China's poor areas to surge this year”
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“Assisted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China's ministries of commerce and science and technology in February 2001 initiated a project to alleviate poverty through ICT in poor counties of Chongqing Municipality, and Hebei, Anhui, Henan and Shaanxi provinces. The project, centred around farming services on the Internet, has played an active role in upgrading farmers' skills and increasing incomes during the past three years.”
“Expert Group Meeting on Information and communication technology (ICT) for Rural poverty reduction: Developing national policies”(28-29 January 2003 United Nations Conference Complex Bangkok, Thailand.)
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This site provides information on the background,date and venueof this meeting. It also states the objectives, participation, and provisional agenda. A PDF is available to download from this site too. Though there is no specific focus on the use of ICT in China’s rural areas, this report can serve as an introductory read on the assessment and effectiveness of ICT in addressing rural poverty reduction. The report also provides a review and an analysis on government policies and strategies on ICT for rural poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific region; providing case studies for Nepal, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines.
“New interactions, new possibilities: transport, new informationcommunication technology and the reduction of rural social inequalities.”(Conference draft: Paper presented to the Chinese Economist Society Annual Meeting, Hangzhou, June 2004)
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This paper illustrates the contribution that a new interaction between communication technology and transport infrastructure can make to the reduction of rural social inequalities. It identifies key dimensions of social and economic activities, which can benefit from this new interaction; it also identifies cutting edge projects and programs, which have harnessed this new interaction in the reduction of rural social inequalities. The paper concludes by indicating the potential relevance of such developments for China.
“Wasted Time: The Price of Poor Access”(Geoff Edmonds for the International Labour Organisation 1998)
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“This book is about the development of a rural infrastructure planning process which uses access as the main parameter. Access is an important factor in rural development because its existence or absence defines the opportunity that rural people have to improve their social and economic well being.”
“Growth and Poverty in rural China: The role of public investments”(Shenggen Fan, Linxiu Zhang and Xiaobo Zhang, June 2003)
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The focus in this study is on the poverty changes and public investments in terms of rural poverty and inequality, with reference to technology, infrastructure, production and productivity growth, as well as non-agricultural employment and wages. Empirical analysis demonstrates the marginal effects of government expenditures on growth and poverty. The study uses a simultaneous equations model and time series spanning from 1978 to 1997, drawing data from across twenty-five provinces to analyze the differential impact of different types of public investments on growth and poverty reduction in rural China. The study notes how investment in rural telecommunications has become the second largest impact on poverty reduction and third largest impact on agricultural growth.
“Shanghai Poverty Conference: case study summary: China: Infrastructure, Growth and Poverty reduction”
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This paper identifies China’s intensive investment into public expenditures, in partnership of their national poverty-alleviation programs. The main focus is on transport infrastructure, especially to rural areas. It highlights the successes so far, as well as lessons learnt. There is no mention of investment into ICTs, but perhaps one could suggest that from reading this piece that the implementation of ICTs into rural communities that are yet to be physically bridged to the rest of China, could help towards ameliorating their situation in the mean time, as lack of infrastructure prevents adequate travel in gaining varying resources, including knowledge and awareness from outside the margins to aid in rural development in the mean time.
Press Release: “China harnesses the Internet to reduce rural poverty”(Saturday, 19 March 2001)
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This is a brief article featured in the UNDPs Daily News site. “UNDP is joining with China's Ministry of Science and Technology in a $2.5 million pilot project to show how new information and communications technology (ICT) can be mobilized to reduce poverty in rural areas…”
“Press Release:Report finds uneven progress in ICT for human development in Asia”
Available at: or
To download the report:
A press release informing of a pioneering UNDP report that has found varying progress in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for human development in nine Asian countries. The Regional Human Development Report evaluates how China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam are harnessing ICT to reduce poverty and improve healthcare, education, environmental management and economic development. Researchers weighed many factors, such as the proportion of cell phone subscribers, Internet users and personal computer owners, along with the charges for Internet and phone service, Internet access in schools, the proportion of women professional technical workers, and competition among service providers.
“ICT Networks for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programmes. (PR China)”
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A detailed account on project partnership working towards alleviating poverty in rural China, through the use of ICTs. The project began on 05.03.2001 and is currently at its second phase. It provides justifications for the project and background information on rural poverty in China. This piece illustrates the projects objectives, as well as its strategies for sustainability. This project is targeted to the rural poor, but specifically tosmall agricultural producers, minority ethnic groups and rural artisans. The methodology of this project is provided along with responses so far. Education, migration, gender equality, microfinance, and remittance economies are the overall focus of this project. This can serve as a useful case study in discussing projects on the use of ICT in rural development.
“Information and Communication Technology Development Indices”(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; 2003)
Available at:
This report analyses and evaluates ICT development using indicators of ICT diffusion across countries, and acts as a benchmark to the extent of ICT development across countries as an important contribution and input to policy-making. Though this paper does not specifically focus on China itself, it does serve as a good introductory to the use of ICT, measures of its impacts and discusses issues of the digital divide, concluding with points on the way forward for ICT in development.
“Approaches for poverty alleviation efforts by Chinese universities”
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“Colleges and universities in China can provide technical assistance in ICT-enabled poverty alleviation efforts. The Chinese model of partnership between university and development stakeholders can be replicated further elsewhere in Asia.” A twelve-step approach has been identified in this paper for Chinese universities to adopt in implementing ICT-based interventions at the grassroots level. Itproposes a model project involving the China Agricultural University (CAU), linking the university hub to the community telecentre.
“Digital power boosts education in poor areas of western China”
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This is a press release discussing China’s five year initiative in using its gains in information and communications technology (ICT) to support distance training of teachers in poor rural communities in Western China.
Asia - Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP)
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Scroll down this website to find information on APDIP. APDIP “is an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that aims to promote the development and application of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for poverty alleviation and sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“Information services in rural China Field surveys and findings”( Zhong Yongling)
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“To strengthen rural market information systems and information management capacity in rural communities, the government of the People's Republic of China has formulated a series of policies in agricultural information services and tried several approaches in developing much needed information services in rural areas. To analyse the experiences and identify the more effective and easy-to-replicate models for use in other regions, FAO collaborated with the Chinese Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture to set up a study group to carry out field surveys of the various information services in rural China. This document reports on the findings of the surveys and analyses the differences and similarities between the three main models identified. The impact of rural information services on agricultural production, constraints encountered in promoting and providing information services, and key issues and conclusions are also reported.”
“Belonging and diaspora: The Chinese and the Internet”(Loong Wong)
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“It has been argued that the Internet can be used to create new communities or to re-create past knowledges, enabling the maintenance and cultural reproduction of "old" communities. In the case of the Chinese community, it has been pointed out that the Internet while has been useful in creating a Chinese presence; it nonetheless privileges essentialism and communal hegemony. This paper by Loong Wong presents an overview of the Chinese diasporas, examines the relationship between ICT and the diaspora, looks at how ICT is shaping and changing the way Chinese diasporic lives are experienced, and examines claims made by cultural theorists.”
“How to avoid stumbling in the last kilometre: The case of Quzhou Agricultural technology”
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This case study refers to a project in Zheizhang Province, China, involving the use of information and communications technologies to build an information network for the dissemination of agricultural technologies. The case study finds that though the project has begun to facilitate horizontal linkages between farmers, the actual operation is not satisfactory because farmers lack methods to access information and fear consulting with officials, who operate the whole system’s capacities.
“Documenting Traditional Knowledge in Yunnan - China ”
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“The Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS) is working to assist farmers with documenting their traditional agricultural knowledge in their own language. The main purpose of the programme is to help these farmers become economically autonomous within their communities; ultimately, farmers would discover, develop, and improve the market value of their local produce. Simple Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools such as a tape recorder are used. Programmes produced are broadcast on the radio." This article is part of an Communications Initiative series of program descriptions.”
“Mountain Voices”
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This website presents interviews with over 300 people who live in mountain and highland regions round the world. Their testimonies offer a personal perspective on change and development. The project is part of Panos Institute's Oral Testimony Program. Collections have been gathered from communities in the Himalaya (India and Nepal); the Andes (Peru); the Sierra Norte (Mexico); Mount Elgon (Kenya); the highlands of Ethiopia and Lesotho; southwest and northeast China; the Sudety mountains (Poland); and the Karakorum mountains of Pakistan. It is an interesting example of the use of ICT to empower indigenous people with voice before the world community.
“Science and technology for development: Lessons learned from China and Japan”
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“Is there a correlation between investment in technology and economic growth? And, if so, should developing countries invest heavily in research and development? What role can ICT play in the process of economic development? This paper examines what lessons can be learned from the impact of technology policies on the economic growth of China and Japan and how they can be applied by policy makers in developing countries. By Peilei Fan, published by United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies.”
“Charting and Bridging Digital Divides: Comparing Socio-economic, Gender, Life Stage, and Rural-Urban Internet Access and Use in Eight Countries”
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The authors state: "Many assume that the digital divide – the large numbers of people who are not connected to the Internet – is small, shrinking, and rapidly becoming irrelevant. It is not. The term “digital divide” refers to multi-dimensional inequalities in Internet access and use, ranging from the global level, to nation states, to communities, and to individuals. The divide is here for some time to come. It is large, multifaceted, and, in some ways, it is not shrinking. Moreover, the divide is socially patterned, so that there are systematic and meaningful variations in the kinds of people who are on and off the Internet.” A case study on China is provided in this document.
“Poverty Alleviation in the People’s Republic of China’s Rural Areas: Problems, Strategy, Policy and the Role of Science and Technology”
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Addresses the issues on anti-poverty strategy for China in the 21st century and the role of technology.
“New Economy and ICT Development in China”(Qingxuan Meng, September 2001)
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This study provides empirical evidence on China’s ICT industry development and diffusion. It addresses the two major issues, it’s ICT industry development and diffusion, compared with other countries of similar economic status e.g. India. This issue also notes China’s vast population and territory, as well as disparities that act as a barrier in establishing a “nationwide common market” which holds important implications in policy-making. The paper also discusses China’s opportunities and challenges in developing and financing its ICT industry etc.
"SUSTAINABLE RURAL NETWORKING COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP AND APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES"
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(Nb/ password required to log in and read document)
“Abstract: "Various approaches to rural information networks have been attempted over the last decade, from basic packet radio email systems to satellite-linked multimedia telecentres, along with government-led extension networks and private sector mobile units. Yet few have succeeded in being both economically viable and serving the actual needs of rural communities they were set to help, particularly the poor and isolated ones among those. This paper discusses the key technological and managerial characteristics of projects that make them both sustainable and responsive to the needs of deprived rural communities. In doing so, the argument emphasises the role of information and communication needs assessments, that of technological appropriation, and of community participation in the design, implementation and operation of rural ICT projects." By François Fortier, Paper Presented to the International Workshop on Models of Poverty Alleviation through Information and Communication Technologies: Challenge and Prospective of Bridging Digital Divide in China Rural Areas; 15-19 January 2003, Tongnan County, Chongqing Municipality, China. (Word document.)”