Quicker commercialization

According to Han, the nation will step up its push to expand 5G network coverage, build a dynamic industrial ecosystem and strengthen international cooperation to quicken the commercialization of the superfast wireless technology.

China Mobile is scrambling to answer the call. The State-owned company has unveiled its plans to help a variety of industries build private 5G networks, which is a key way to implement innovative industrial applications.

Private 5G networks enable companies to control resources and deploy their own networks. They can also safely store important sensitive data on their own networks and don't have to send the information to telecom operators, said Zhao Dachun, deputy general manager of China Mobile.

China Telecom and China Unicom, two smaller rivals, have also announced their latest developments. They have jointly built and operated more than 300,000 5G base stations so far, after announcing a year ago that they would join hands to reduce construction costs for fifth-generation wireless technology.

Wang Xiaochu, chairman of China Unicom, said the 5G joint construction and sharing initiative has helped to save 60 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) in construction investment, which enabled the companies to achieve the goal of enlarging 5G network coverage in the shortest time and with the lowest investment level.

According to data compiled by MIIT, as of July, about 99 telecom operators in more than 46 countries and regions had started offering 5G services, and Chinese telecom companies are set to be among the most aggressive in terms of investment into 5G network rollout.

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank, has forecast that the country is likely to spend 1.2 trillion yuan on 5G network construction by 2025, driving more than 3.5 trillion yuan of investment in the upstream and downstream industry chains and related sectors by then.

The forecast came as China consolidated its position as a global leader in 5G, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation is expected to account for 70 percent of global 5G connections this year, according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, or GSMA, the international association of mobile operators.

The association also predicted that 5G will account for almost half of China's mobile connections by 2025, representing an adoption rate on par with other leading 5G markets such as Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Si Han, head of GSMA China, said, "Unlocking the benefits of 5G networks, flexible policies, including for spectrum and infrastructure, are strategically important to support China's ongoing transformation into a fully fledged digital economy."

According to Si, identifying industrial scenarios, establishing standards, and joint innovations are key factors for 5G's success with different sectors, but patience and persistence are as important in the efforts to better understand each industry's evolving needs and requirements.

Chen Hong, chairman of Hina Group, a Chinese investment company that has funded a string of 5G-related startups, said that as digital technologies become increasingly intertwined with traditional sectors, 5G will play a new role in spurring China's burgeoning digital economy to a new development stage.

"4G has triggered a boom in China's consumer internet applications. But the nation has no star companies that excel in using digital technologies to serve businesses. That is in sharp contrast to the US, where consumer internet companies and enterprise internet companies are thriving in tandem," Chen said.

"The landscape in China will be reshaped by 5G, which will accelerate the use of digital technologies in more sectors.