Abstract : The article explains t he role and f ut ure t rend of IT indust ry , and states t hat information technology represented by t he internet and comp uters has brought about t he t hird indust rial revolution in history.
　　An important impetus for economic growt h in modern times , t he IT indust ry has greatly p romoted sustainable development and is profoundly changing mankind’s way of life and production. In discussing t he development t rend of world IT indust ry , t he article suggest s that with potential new breakthroughs in IT technology , t he t rend of agglomeration and integration of indust ries has become increasingly obvious , competition of intellectual properties and st randards is intensifying and ubiquitous networks is taking shape. It point s out t hat China should bring into bet ter play t he role of IT indust ry as an“amplifier”in economic growt h , a“t ransformer”in development mode and a“propeller”in indust rial upgrading. It is important to follow a policy t hat emp hasizes indepandent innovation , market2driven approach , open and compatible technologies , integrated and comprehensive application , and serving both military and civil p urposes , so t hat a quant um leap of IT indust ry will be achieved. China should advance indust rialization with IT technologles and promote t he IT indust ry in the cour se of indust rialization in an effort to build an IT industry with Chinese characteristics. Greater effort s should be made to develop such core sectors as microelect ronics , comp uter , sof tware , key component s and material s , as well as sectors wit h international competitiveness , including broadband mobile communication , next2generation network and information services. Continued improvement should be made in t he policies guiding t he development of IT indust ry wit h a view to making China a count ry with a st rong IT indust ry by 2020.
　　Key words : information technology industry ; industrial development ; development st rategy ; new age ; China