China to deepen cooperation in 6G with EU, South Korea, and India

China will deepen international exchanges and cooperation on 6G with countries and regions such as the European Union, South Korea, and India, Xie Cun, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday.

Xie said that MIIT facilitated the formation of the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group to accelerate the development and innovation of 6G technology.

MIIT has published over 50 research findings and conducted testing and verification of 6G key technologies, such as synaesthesia integration and wireless AI to speed up technology readiness of the technology, he said.

China is taking more concrete measures to lower barriers to foreign investment in the telecommunications sector.

Xie noted that by the end of March, there were more than 2,400 foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises in China, an increase of 26.5 percent over the same period last year.

China will expand the opening-up of the telecommunications industry, and attract more qualified foreign-funded enterprises to invest and operate telecommunications business in China, Xie added.

Last October, the MIIT launched a pilot program to expanded access in value-added telecom services in four designated areas in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen.

Under this program, foreign investors are allowed to establish wholly-owned enterprises to operate services such as internet data centers, online data processing, and transaction processing within these areas. They will also gain greater access to China's cloud and computing service markets.

China has seen rapid growth in digital technologies represented by 5G and AI models.

Official data from MIIT said that in the first two months of the year, China's digital industry posted a year-on-year growth of 8.2 percent in business revenue. As of the end of March, a total of 4.395 million 5G base stations had been constructed and activated.

Xie noted that global economic uncertainty has risen significantly due to increased external complexity and the erosion of trade systems and rules, affecting global commerce, supply chain stability, and China's industrial development.

However, he expressed confidence in overcoming current challenges.

China has a complete industrial system, a vast market, and advanced digital infrastructure. Its industrial economy remains resilient, dynamic, and full of potential. The fundamentals are stable, and the commitment to high-quality development remains unchanged, continuing to anchor global industrial and supply chains, he said.