A visitor tries a 5G-powered game during a press preview for the 2019 World 5G Convention in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 20, 2019. The 2019 World 5G Convention will open here on Nov. 21. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

China's 5G construction is an open and level playing field for global companies, and trade protectionism will only harm the industry's development, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei said at the World 5G Convention on Thursday. 

According to Miao, there are 113,000 5G base stations operating in China, and about 870,000 users have signed up for 5G services. By the end of this year, the total number of 5G base stations is expected to reach 130,000.

China is one of the first countries to have entered the 5G commercial era, with three major network operators introducing the first 5G data plans in the country on October 31. 

"Openness and cooperation are still the global consensus in developing telecommunications," Miao said. China is insisting on the openness of the market, and it welcomes global companies to participate in 5G construction in China. "No market shares are predetermined in China's 5G development," Miao said. 

International and Chinese companies have been working together in China's 5G sector in terms of research, developing applications and setting industry standards. The Finnish company Nokia, Swedish company Ericsson and the US company Qualcomm have all participated under the IMT-2020 group to contribute to industry standards. 

Eric Xu, rotating chairman of Huawei, said during the World 5G Convention that the 5G base stations and 5G core networks are independent from each other, and any arguments that the two are inseparable are "ill-intended".

China can deliver the world's best 5G based on its spectrum resources, base stations and government support. While the rest of the world can also reap the fruit of its 5G development with increasing demand for 5G networks, semiconductors and devices, Xu said.
Newspaper headline: Nation open to world in development of 5G industry: ministry