China's ZTE presents its Axon 10 Pro 5G cellphone at Mobile World Congress (MWC 2019) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2019. The four-day MWC 2019 opened its door on Monday, which presents the newest 5G products of the high-tech giants from all around the world. (Photo: Xinhua)

All countries should embrace 5G with an open and collaborative mentality, and only by creating indigenous core competitiveness can we survive in an open environment, ZTE Chairman Li Zixue said on Friday.

The information technology industry represented by 5G has arrived, and the large-scale application of 5G will transform various industries, Li said at the New Economy Forum held by Bloomberg and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing on Friday.

"The whole world is connected. Only those who hold an open attitude and build their core technologies in an open environment can survive amid competition," Li said.

"We will definitely embrace the technological revolution with an open, collaborative and 'win-win' attitude," he said, noting that players throughout the 5G industry chain should build mutual trust.

As a telecommunications equipment manufacturer, ZTE may cooperate with the US, and this cooperation must be mutually beneficial, Li said.

His comments come as the commercialization of 5G has become the industry's focus, following the rollout of 5G network services by China's major telecommunications carriers on November 1.

By April 2019, 34 percent of global 5G patents were owned by Chinese companies, bringing the country to the No.1 ranking in this regard, data from German patent data firm IPlytics showed. Huawei itself ranked No.1 among global firms, with its patents accounting for 15 percent of the global total.

As for global concerns brought about by 5G, Li said it's inevitable that innovative technologies will bring about new problems, but that ZTE is making efforts to solve these problems.

"These problems will certainly be solved," Li said, noting that ZTE has set up security labs in many places across the world to deal with such issues.

Currently, China leads the US in 5G technology, represented by Huawei, said Hu Zuliu, chairman of Primavera Capital Group, to the Global Times on the sidelines of the forum. He added that China's overall technological gap with the US is also narrowing. 

China's lead in 5G will benefit the whole world, including the US. Therefore, the US shouldn't block Huawei, Hu said, noting that other countries will share in China's 5G achievements.

"US politicians are short-sighted and narrow-minded. This is not a zero-sum game," he said.

Building a public, fair and transparent competition environment, as well as preventing protectionism, is beneficial for human beings as a whole, he said.