The sharing economy, which includes, among other things, life services, transportation, knowledge sharing, accommodation, and medical services, realised market transactions worth C¥3.452 tn in 2016, up 103 percent year-on-year, says 'China's sharing economy development report 2017'.
The report predicts
- sharing economy to grow 40 percent yearly, reaching 10 percent of GDP by 2020 and 20 percent by 2025
- five to ten giant platform enterprises to emerge over the next decade
China Environment News argues this growth is based on
- a massive consumer base and fast adaptation of new technologies
- 731 million internet users, of which 95.1 percent are on mobile internet, according to China Internet Network Information Centre
- government policy support, with the sharing economy featuring prominently in
- investor interest
- the digital economy attracted C¥171 bn in 2016, up 130 percent y-o-y
China Environment News further argues the sharing economy's 2016 growth was characterised by
- market expansion
- flexible employment, important due to slowing economic growth
- entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) enabling flexible and efficient use of resources; the most successful mass E&I areas 'have sharing economy DNA'
- paid-for knowledge sharing, live video streaming and bike sharing, all of which had a breakthrough year
- large M&As in pioneering areas
- online platforms' exploration of credit systems