China has issued a geographic information development plan, vowing to improve its surveying and mapping capability and services.

By 2020, the country will establish a non-profit system providing integrated services including basic surveying and mapping, condition monitoring, surveying and mapping for emergency response, aerial and space remote sensing surveying and mapping as well as global geoinformation resources developing, the plan said.

According to the document, China will set up a national satellite navigation and positioning network consisting of over 2,500 base stations in five years.

It also noted that China will provide emergency response surveying and mapping services covering 80 percent of the country's land territory and key sea areas within four hours, and establish a spatiotemporal database of smart cities.

The output value of China's geographic information industry is forecast to exceed 800 billion yuan (around 120 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020, the plan said.

The document was jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

Source: Xinhua News Agency