5G Photo: VCG

China has rolled out the world's largest technologically advanced 5G network, with 3.19 million 5G base stations being deployed as of the end of September, which will shore up the foundation of the nation's continuous progress in expanding the digital economy, a senior official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said at an industry forum. 

The nation's 5G smartphone user base has surpassed 737 million, accounting for 42.8 percent of all domestic mobile phone users. More than 20,000 5G-enabled industry virtual private networks were established by the end of last month, Zhang Yunming, a vice minister from the MIIT, said at the opening ceremony of the 2023 China 5G Development Conference, which took place on Friday and Saturday in Shanghai according to the official website of the MIIT.

Zhang noted that China has achieved a major technological breakthrough in 5G, forming a relatively complete industry chain covering sectors from 5G networks, chips, devices and other terminals to associated industry sectors. 

China has made an active contribution to formulating 5G global standards. As of the end of September, the country was in possession of 42 percent of the world's essential patents declared for 5G technology, Zhang said. 

Zhang said that the MIIT will target continuous strengthening of network capacity, technological innovation, integration with related industries and international cooperation. 

It will deploy research development targeting technology, standard formulation and products for 5G-A (5.5G), advance the technological progress and commercial deployment of 5G RedCap, continue to carry out testing and validation of 5G innovations, and accelerate the maturity of the industry.

Chinese tech giant Huawei announced on Saturday that the company has taken the lead in completing all 5G-A functional tests on September 11 under the organization of IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group. 

The company has fully completed 5G-A technical performance tests, and the results showed that Huawei has made significant breakthroughs in a number of 5G-A uplink and downlink ultra-wideband technologies.

The ministry also launched a campaign to boost continued investment focusing on 5G development and promote large-scale application of 5G domestically, China Media Group reported.

The MIIT plans to build more than 10,000 5G-enabled factories during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), and 600,000 more 5G base stations will be rolled out before the end of this year.

The MIIT will continue to accelerate 5G applications in fields such as manufacturing, mining, electric power and port management, while exploring more application scenarios in sectors like healthcare and education. At present, 5G technology applications have been extended to 67 of the 97 major categories of the country's economy.

China's world-leading 5G technology is being widely and deeply integrated with major industrial lines and services to promote economic development, Liu Dingding, a veteran technology industry observer, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Global Times