BEIJING - Among China's 772 million online population, only a very small portion are using the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-based network, according to an internet researcher.

Yang Weiping, deputy head of the R&D department of the China Internet Network Information Center, made the statement while delivering a report on the country's internet development recently.

A total of 23,430 blocks/32 of IPv6 addresses had been allocated in the Chinese mainland by the end of 2017, according to Yang. An IPv6 block/32 has 2^96 addresses.

Thought the number is the second largest in the world, but the actual application level is still quite low, said Yang.

The IPv6 network allows a much higher theoretical limit on the number of IP addresses than the current IPv4 system.

China aims to have 200 million active users of IPv6 by the end of 2018, while the number will exceed 500 million by 2020, according to an action plan issued in last November.