6G Photo: VCG

China takes an early global lead in 6G technology research and development (R&D) with technological accumulation amid intensified competition between it and the US with regard to new generations of networks, experts said on Thursday after China officially announced the activation of its 6G R&D project.

A kick-off meeting for the project was held on Sunday and announced the establishment of a group of 37 experts from universities, research institutes and enterprises, according to China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Wednesday.

The group is mainly responsible for putting forward 6G technical research suggestions and technical demonstrations, and providing consultations for major decisions, according to MOST.

"6G technology research is still in the initial stage of exploration, and major indicators and application scenarios have not been uniformly defined yet," Wang Xi, an MOST official, said at the meeting.

China has been recognized as a leader in the 5G technology arena, and officially launched 5G commercial services on October 31. China has set up more than 86,000 5G base stations and launched over a dozen 5G handsets, according to media reports.

The US has been trying to crack down on China's technological development through the internationally publicized Huawei case. In May the US placed the private Chinese telecoms firm on its Entity List to restrict the company from buying technology or parts from US firms, and has been lobbying other countries to avoid cooperation with Huawei.

US President Donald Trump in February tweeted that he wants 5G and even 6G as soon as possible, which triggered a round of discussion about what exactly 6G is and how to achieve it when 5G is barely operational. Industry experts noted that there is no physical segmentation between sequential generations of networks, and 6G will need the support of mature 5G technology.

It is impossible to skip 5G to develop 6G for a sector which specifically needs technological accumulation, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Chinese tech giant Huawei, which has been playing a leading role in 5G technology, has also commenced 6G research. Its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said in an earlier interview that Huawei is leading the world with regard to 6G research, but that it would take 10 years for 6G to be ready.

Experts echo that 6G technology is currently in the pre-research phase, and will need 10 years or more before it is realized as it needs to conquer obstacles much more complex than earlier generations.