1 In my role as the CTO of the Cloud Foundry Foundation, I have the opportunity to travel the world, interacting with a wide range of cultures, people and organizations. I'd last been to China in 2015 when I visited Shanghai for a Foundation event. The two-and-a-half-year gap has given me a fresh perspective on the evolution of that market. 2 The rate of digitization in China is much faster than in western countries, and it seems to be accelerating. Similarly, the scale of technological investment is almost incomprehensibly enormous. This has massive implications for companies based in the U.S. and Europe, regardless as to whether they choose to do business in China. 3 Consider the adoption of mobile payment technologies like Alibaba's Alipay or Tencent's WeChat Pay within China. Trust me – don't try to go to a restaurant in a major Chinese city without a mobile payment app! Due to counterfeiting and fraud risks, cash and card use are increasingly uncommon. Even gift shopping in an airport with cash is difficult and sometimes not accepted. In 2017, China Tech Insights released a report on the adoption of mobile payment trends. It noted 40% of people in China carried less than 100 RMB cash (less than $15 USD). Most interesting to me is the acceptance of a cashless existence, with only 16% of individuals reporting any emotional discomfort at having no cash on hand. 4 Part of the reason for China's accelerated pace is the purposeful transition the Chinese government is inspiring via the "Made in China 2025" initiative. In technology sectors, the program aims to transit Chinese business from the dominant "fast follower" approach to product development into a phase of significant original innovation and invention. Nearly every sector of the Chinese economy is becoming inventive and digitized. They are aggressively transforming industry and manufacturing and creating multiple industrial internet platforms. Question : The underlined word "accelerating" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_______________?