China's generative artificial intelligence (AI) users had reached 602 million by December 2025, marking a surge of 141.7 percent year-on-year, according to an industry report released on Thursday, underscoring the rapid integration of generative AI into daily life and production activities, and is increasingly becoming a key engine driving China's digital and intelligent transformation.

The data came from the 57th Statistical Report on China's Internet Development, released on Thursday by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

The report showed that penetration rate of generative AI in the country climbed to 42.8 percent, up 25.2 percentage points year-on-year, noting that China's internet development achieved significant progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.

By the end of December 2025, China's internet user population had reached 1.125 billion, pushing the internet penetration rate beyond 80 percent. In terms of high-speed mobile networks, the country had built 4.838 million 5G base stations. All townships and 95 percent of administrative villages now have access to 5G services, while evolved 5G networks have covered more than 330 cities nationwide, according to the report.

Currently, China has built globally leading digital infrastructure, with 5G networks covering all townships nationwide and intelligent computing power ranking among the top globally, laying a solid foundation for the development of emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy, Wang Changqing, a research fellow from the CNNIC, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The report also highlighted nation's growing role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in strengthening industrial and supply chains. China is home to more than 60 million SMEs, which account for 99.9 percent of all enterprises, 84.3 percent of total employment, and 78 percent of total corporate assets. Nearly 6,000 "little giant" enterprises—highly specialized and innovation-driven SMEs—have emerged in future-oriented sectors such as quantum technology, AI and the low-altitude economy, the report said.

Wang said that under the "AI Plus" initiative, SMEs are not only beneficiaries but also the main driving force and frontline practitioners of AI application. He noted that going forward, SMEs are expected to receive greater policy support in areas such as fiscal incentives and access to data resources, further unleashing innovation momentum and accelerating the commercialization of artificial intelligence.