A blue paper on China's information-based development published Thursday warned that lack of independent core technology is likely to hinder the country's info tech drive.

According to the blue paper, titled Analysis and Forecast on China's Informatization (2010), more than 90 percent of personal computers' CPUs and basic software in the country were imported.

"This condition is inevitable during our country's process of reform and opening-up, but as the country goes deeper in informatization, it's bad for sustainable development," the paper warned.

The blue book was published by the Social Sciences Academic Press under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Although China has been experiencing fast development in information technology since the 21st century, it should be noted that our information and communication technology practices are mostly at a level that developed countries already achieved in the 1990s," said the paper.

The paper urged measures to promote the speed and quality of China's information technology drive.

However, the book also noted obvious information development in the country's rural areas, citing the population of rural Internet users surpassed 100 million last year.

According to the paper, about 72 million countryside people log on to the Internet through cell phones, up 79 percent year on year.

Figures from the China Internet Network Information Center show that China's online population rose to 420 million, the world's largest, by the end of June.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2010)