Exploring the diversity and consistency of China’s information technology policy

Information technology (IT) policies have played an indispensable role in China’s IT research and development (R&D) and industrial development. However, there has been a lack of quantitative and clear understanding of the consistency and diversity of China’s IT policy mixes. In this article, we constructed policy target network to simulate the real policy mixes. Based on the distribution and evolution of networks, we identify and analyse the ‘diversity’ and ‘consistency & continuity’ of China’s IT policy. Our results show that China’s IT policies cover 12 different demands, and each demand corresponds to 5–10 core policy goals. At the same time, we divide the history of IT policy into seven periods and compare the characteristics of each period. Despite the scale of the policy mixes continuing to expand, the synergy between different policy targets has become clearer, forming unique communities. Among them, there are 25 core policy targets that reflect varying degrees of consistency and continuity. This study not only deepens the understanding of China’s policy characteristics and patterns, but also provides a quantitative framework for the assessment of policy consistency and diversity.