What is China doing to realize the dream of 6G technology?

The race to take the lead in next-generation mobile technology, 6G, is fierce. China’s leading researchers and telecom companies are going all out to build a solid foundation for the future. With a huge advantage in talent, patents, and 5G deployment experience, China aims to take the lead in the 6G research and development race, despite growing geopolitical challenges.

In a period of tumultuous technological transition, the world is on the threshold of a new era with the advent of 6G networks. Recent heated discussions have further confirmed the strategic importance of shaping the standards and core technologies for the next generation of networks. Although there are still many unknowns, it is certain that 6G will bring breakthroughs in speed, latency and bandwidth, far beyond what 5G can do.

This technology promises to revolutionize global connectivity, seamlessly integrating air, sea and land communications systems, paving the way for unprecedented breakthrough applications.

China aims to put 6G technology into commercial use by 2030. Accordingly, Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong affirmed: "We will invest heavily in research and development of 6G technology, aiming for landmark technological breakthroughs."

China's efforts in research and development of 6G technology

Determined to lead the technological revolution, Chinese telecommunications engineers achieved a remarkable achievement when they successfully built the world's first 6G field test network integrating communications and intelligence in July. This is considered an important step forward, opening up unlimited application possibilities for 6G technology in the future.

According to the research team, the 6G field test network achieved a 10-fold improvement in key communication metrics, including capacity, coverage, and network efficiency. Therefore, this test will serve as a platform to facilitate organizations to conduct initial research on key 6G technologies.

“The race to develop 6G technology is extremely fierce with the participation of many powerful countries such as the European Union, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. However, with a solid 5G infrastructure and remarkable progress in research, China is holding significant competitive advantages to lead in the 6G era,” said Mr. Wen Ku, General Director of the China Communications Standards Association.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, with more than 3.8 million 5G base stations installed, accounting for 60% of the total number of 5G base stations globally as of the end of May, China is leading the world in 5G network deployment. This rapid development has helped more than 60% of Chinese mobile users experience modern 5G technology.

Notably, more than 94,000 5G applications have been deployed in China, covering a wide range of industries such as manufacturing, mining, power grids, ports, and healthcare, demonstrating the large scale of application of this technology.

“Promoting the deployment of 5G is like building a good bridge and road for 6G, creating favorable conditions for the development of 6G in the future. In other words, 5G is a solid foundation for us to move towards the 6G era,” said Mr. Wen Ku.

China has also been quick to seize the opportunity and take the lead in the 6G technology race. According to a 2021 survey by Japanese media company Nikkei and research firm Cyber ​​​​Creative Institute, China has owned 40.3% of all 6G patent applications globally, far surpassing competitors such as the US (35.2%), Japan (9.9%), Europe (8.9%) and South Korea (4.2%). This shows that China has had a very strong start and is working hard to maintain its pioneering position in this technology.

In the telecommunications industry, countries that are leaders in older mobile technology often have a first-mover advantage in the next generation of mobile technology. This helps them lead the market and promote the overall development of the mobile industry, according to a report by China Galaxy Securities.

“China regards mobile networks as core infrastructure and has always invested heavily in them,” said Yang Guang, senior analyst at technology research and consulting firm Omdia. “This policy helps state-owned carriers fulfill their social responsibilities and facilitates the development of related industries.”

Meanwhile, telecom operators in Europe and the US, as private enterprises, put profits first. Therefore, they often prioritize cutting operating costs rather than investing heavily in building new infrastructure, Mr. Yang Guang added.

Strengthening cooperation to promote 6G development

In stark contrast to the closed-mindedness of some countries in telecommunications development, China has emphasized that 6G requires consensus and close cooperation among all stakeholders in the global industry, academia and application. This will create greater vitality and a more vibrant atmosphere of innovation.

China's Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Zhang Yunming has repeatedly called for further efforts to strengthen international cooperation to promote the formulation of globally unified standards for 6G.

Chinese and foreign telecom companies have all participated in 6G technical tests and inspections in China, as 6G is moving from a concept to a critical stage of potential technological breakthroughs, said Wang Zhiqin, head of the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, a leading government-affiliated organization promoting 6G and international cooperation in China.

Major technology companies such as Nokia Shanghai Bell, Ericsson, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Huawei, ZTE, Vivo and Inspur have participated in China's 6G technical tests and inspections, said Wang Zhiqin.

China's 6G development adheres to the principle of open cooperation, strengthens international exchanges, and has signed cooperation agreements with partners in South Korea, Europe and India.

In February, a group of 10 countries, including the US and UK, announced that they had endorsed a set of principles to support the development of safe and sustainable 6G networks.

Dong Yifan, an assistant researcher at the Institute of European Studies at the Beijing-based China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the race for dominance in setting 6G standards is becoming fierce. “Developed countries led by the US are trying to unite to regain the lead they lost in the 5G race. They clearly understand that 6G is not just a new technology but also an important battlefield for promoting global innovation and industrial transformation,” he said.

The US move to form a small group to contain China in the international telecommunications sector is not simply a competitive move. It is part of a comprehensive encirclement strategy to limit the development of China, a country that is emerging as the world's leading technological power.

Isolating China from the global telecommunications ecosystem not only harms Beijing's interests but also slows down the innovation and development of the entire industry, as China has been making significant contributions to the advancement of telecommunications technology.

The US's pressure on allies like the UK to exclude telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE from their 5G networks, under the pretext of national security concerns, is in fact a highly political trade and technology war.

Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), has warned of the risk of “small-field, high-fence” in the development of 6G technology. He stressed that isolation in this area would be a serious setback, negatively affecting the entire mobile industry.

Instead, Sinclair calls for a global collaboration where carriers, academia, research institutes and technology companies work together to develop 6G standards to fully exploit the potential of next-generation technology.

Major telecom carriers are actively testing 6G technology.

Huang Yuhong, director general of the China Mobile Research Institute, has affirmed that the race to develop 6G technology is entering the sprint stage. According to him, China aims to put 6G into commercial use by 2030, while the international standardization organization for telecommunications technology development (3GPP) is expected to start discussing 6G standards from 2025.

With such a pressing time, 6G research and development activities are underway globally in general and in China in particular, promising to bring about amazing technological breakthroughs.

Accordingly, China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunications carrier by number of mobile phone subscribers, successfully launched the world's first satellite to test 6G architecture in February, marking a milestone in its efforts to explore integrated terrestrial and space communications technology.

The low-Earth orbit (LEO) experimental satellite is the first satellite to use the 6G design architecture, jointly developed by China Mobile and the Microsatellite Innovation Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China Mobile said the system uses domestic software and hardware, supports on-orbit software reconstruction, flexible deployment of core network functions and automatic management, and improves the efficiency and reliability of on-orbit satellite core network operations.

Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 500 km, these satellites offer advantages such as low latency and high data rates compared to high-orbit satellites. As an important foundation for future integrated space-ground networks, low-orbit satellites can solve the coverage challenges currently faced by terrestrial mobile networks to provide higher bandwidth satellite internet services globally.

China Mobile said it plans to conduct in-orbit experiments based on these test satellites, accelerating the integration and development of space-to-ground technology industries.

“To realize 6G commercially by 2030, the base stations to form the 6G network must be ready around 2029,” Mr. Huang added.

According to a report by market analysis firm Market Research Future, the global 6G market is expected to reach $340 billion by 2040, with a compound annual growth rate of over 28% during 2031-2040.

The Asia-Pacific region, especially China, with greater emphasis on satellite communications and related technological innovations, will lead this trend, says a report by Market Research Future.

In addition, China Unicom, another major Chinese telecommunications company, is also working hard to explore key potential technologies for 6G. The company expects to complete technical research and explore initial application scenarios for 6G technology by 2025.

China Unicom said it will promote close cooperation between industry, the academic community and research institutes to realize collaborative innovation in 6G network technology and architecture.

Previously, Chinese companies have worked with international organizations to establish standards for 3G, 4G and 5G technologies. To promote the formation of globally unified 6G standards, China should also continue to strengthen partnerships and cooperation with foreign partners.

Important upgrades for 5G

While the commercial application of 6G is still a few years away, Chinese telecom companies are also working hard to develop 5.5G (5G-Advanced) technology, which is a major upgrade to 5G networks in terms of functionality and coverage, and paves the way for 6G technologies. For example, 5G-Advanced has a maximum downlink speed of 10 gigabits per second to meet increasingly diverse service requirements.

Wang Tao, CEO of Huawei Technologies, said that more than 60 global telecom operators and partners have announced the launch of 5G-Advanced, and more than 30 5G-Advanced-enabled devices will be launched this year, marking a milestone in the digital era.

Mr. Wang Tao said that 5G-Advanced is the way for the mobile industry to protect existing investments while creating new business opportunities. He called for continuous improvement of 5G-Advanced technology to maintain the vitality of the 5G industry and realize the technology's vision of changing society.

Along with the increasingly strong commercialization of 5G-Advanced, artificial intelligence (AI) is opening up new horizons for the telecommunications industry. According to Huawei's leadership, 2024 will be the year that witnesses the deep convergence of 5G-Advanced and AI right on mobile devices, opening a new era where smart services become an indispensable part of daily life.