The value of China’s spatial information industry is expected to reach CNY 100 billion (about 158 million AU) this year, according to China Association for Geographic Information Systems.

"The geographic information industry has entered a stage of fast development in recent years," said Cong Yuandong, secretary general of the association. But finding professionals with relevant GIS skills was a problem, he said. To this end, China continues to encourage students to study GIS or related topics in the country’s higher education institutions.

At present, almost 200 Chinese universities are offering GIS-related related majors.