Internet sector optimistic to buoy economy?

China's Internet users reached 590 million in the first half of this year, and 80 percent use their smartphones to go online. More people are recognizing the opportunity to tap into China's huge consumer market.

Home appliance retailer Suning, footwear manufacturing Xtep and commercial real estate developer Insite Space, businesses that used to seem unlikely to make an impact on the digital world, all participated in the Internet Conference. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

"The next generation Internet will definitely transform conventional industry. Those who don't embrace it quickly enough will be washed out," said Lyu Zaifeng, executive director of Consumer & Small Business Services at Lenovo Group, the world's top personal computer maker.

Lenovo is reshaping its business to put more emphasis on wireless computing, as consumers shift away from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets.

China's Internet giants are speeding up mergers and innovation. Alibaba has invested a hefty amount of money in stakes of China's most popular micro-blogging service Sina Weibo, and AutoNavi, one of the country's leading digital map and navigation businesses. Search engine giant Baidu has acquired online video website PPS and 91 Wireless, one of the country's top mobile app distributors.

Another big player, Tencent, recently launched an updated version of WeChat, a mobile messaging application that boasts more than 400 million users. Looking to capitalize on the app, it added games, paid-for emotions and a mobile payment system.

Chinese entrepreneurship has risen to new highs, thanks to the mobile Internet boom.

The two startup forums at the conference were held to a packed houses of over 1,500. In the cafeteria and the corridors, aspiring entrepreneurs huddled together, exchanging ideas and looking for tie-ups, with few signs of a slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.