Huawei smartphones are displayed at a Huawei store in Beijing. File photo: VCG

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies unveiled its first 5G mobile phone, Mate20 X, on Friday, sparking a race on 5G smartphones in China. 

Powered by a Kirin 980 processor with the 7-nanometer Balong 5000 5G multi-mode chipset, the phone, priced at 6,199 yuan ($900), is the only mobile phone in the world that supports both SA and NSA (two different 5G networks), and the phone also supports network standards such as 4G, 3G and 2G, the company said. The phone will be on sale on August 16.

"Huawei will continue to explore cutting-edge technology, and build a 5G experience for consumers with the partners," He Gang, president of Huawei Consumer Business Mobile Phone Product Line, said at a press conference in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

"The biggest surprise for me is the price, as it is similar to most 4G mobile phones," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, a telecom industry association, told the Global Times Friday.

"I had thought that the price could be more than 10,000 yuan with such features as 256G storage and two different 5G networks," Xiang explained, adding he believes it is the home-made chip which has helped lower the price. 

Another Chinese telecom giant, ZTE, on Tuesday announced pre-sales of its Axon 10 Pro 5G smartphone, priced at 4,999 yuan, making it the first 5G handset to officially hit stores in China. 

ZTE's mobile phone is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 mobile platform and a 4000mAh battery with wireless charging support.

The ZTE phone is not as sophisticated as Huawei's but the two companies are also network providers, which could be a big help to cutting costs, Xiang added. 

Chinese companies will definitely dominate the 5G market, and it will be hard for Apple to compete, Xiang noted.  

China issued four 5G licenses to network carriers in June, which is regarded as a sign of the start of the 5G era.