China’s online population climbed to more than 1.12 billion as of June, according to the latest statistical bulletin released on Monday by the state-run China Internet Network Information Center. The total represents an internet penetration rate of 79.7 percent across the country’s 1.4 billion residents. The report highlights broadening access among older citizens, with 161 million users aged 60 and above now connected. CINIC said the expansion is helping a wider swath of the population benefit from the country’s fast-growing digital economy, which increasingly incorporates emerging markets and artificial-intelligence applications.