BEIJING - The number of people using internet apps in China increased during the first half of 2018, a report on internet development revealed Monday.

Online financial service users increased by 39.74 million as of June 2018, up 30.9 percent from the end of 2017, said the report, the 42nd of a bi-annual series released by the China Internet Network Information Center.

China's online population hit 802 million at the end of June, up 3.8 percent on six months previously.

According to the report, the percentage of Chinese netizens using online financial services rose from 16.7 percent to 21 percent from the end of 2017 to June 2018.

China introduced a series of tightened regulations for online financial services in 2018.

By June 2018, online shopping and online payment users accounted for 71 percent of China's total internet population.

Online shoppers reached 569 million. The value of online retail sales reached 4.08 trillion yuan ($594 billion) during the first half of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 30.1 percent.

Use of online entertainment also went up, with online literature, games, and video all increasing by more than 5 percent during the first half.