BEIJING - A total of 73 million industrial equipment items were connected by industrial internet platforms in China by the end of March, official data showed.

The number of industrial APPs exceeded 590,000 by the end of March, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Firms saw the digitalization rate in key processes at 52.1 percent, and the penetration rate of digital tools for research and development at 73 percent.

China will develop the industrial internet to help medium-sized, small and micro enterprises improve their capacities for making innovations, according to this year's government work report.