China 5G Development Conference Held in Shanghai, 2024

Shanghai, December 13, 2024

The 2024 China 5G Development Conference was held in Shanghai from December 11 to 12. Zhang Yunming, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the 1 conference and delivered a keynote speech.  

Zhang noted that as of the end of October 2024, China had deployed 4.141 million 5G base stations, with 29 5G base stations per 10,000 people, surpassing the "14th Five-Year Plan" target ahead of schedule.

China has achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in its 5G technology industry, establishing a complete industrial chain covering communication chips, terminals, base station equipment, and instrumentation. The diversity of integrated products continues to expand, with nearly 2,000 innovative 5G terminal products launched and commercially available.

To promote the application of 5G technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has consecutively held seven "Blooming Cup" 5G application solicitation contests. These contests have accumulated over 100,000 application cases, with 5G applications widely integrated into 80 of the 97 major categories of the national economy, helping enterprises improve quality, reduce costs, and increase efficiency.

According to a report by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), the mobile ecosystem, led by 5G, created approximately 8 million jobs in China in 2023. According to calculations by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the commercial use of 5G has directly driven a total economic output of approximately 5.6 trillion yuan and indirectly driven approximately 14 trillion yuan in the past five years.

China's 5G development has entered a "second half" marked by deepened application and technological upgrades. The country is promoting the full-range and full-chain popularization and application of 5G and other new-generation information technologies, accelerating their integration into all aspects of economic and social development, and better leveraging the enabling, empowering, and value-adding roles of 5G to drive the development of various industries.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to:
Promote network upgrades: Further consolidate the digital foundation by strengthening all-region high-quality 5G network coverage, accelerating the extension of 5G to remote areas, and accelerating the promotion of 5G lightweight (RedCap) coverage in county-level cities and above.

Promote industrial upgrades: Further strengthen innovation-driven development by continuously conducting 5G-A technology research, standard development, and product research and development, deepening the integration of 5G with AI, Beidou, and other technologies, and improving the supply of products such as chips, modules, equipment, and solutions.

Promote application upgrades: Further deepen integrated empowerment by solidly promoting the implementation of the "Sailing" action plan for large-scale 5G applications, actively cultivating new 5G terminals, new experiences, and new environments, and exploring and expanding the deployment and application of 5G in emerging fields such as low-altitude economy and smart ocean.

Promote cooperation upgrades: Further achieve mutual benefit and win-win results by deepening multi-level international dialogue and exchanges in technology, standards, industry, and applications, and supporting cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises to jointly promote the prosperity and development of the industry.