What is China doing to realize its 6G technology dream?

The race to take the lead in next-generation mobile technology, 6G, is incredibly fierce. Leading Chinese researchers and telecommunications companies are pouring all their resources into building a solid foundation for the future. With a superior advantage in talent, patents, and 5G deployment experience, China aims to lead the 6G research and development race, despite growing geopolitical challenges.

In a turbulent period of technological transition, the world stands on the threshold of a new era with the advent of 6G networks. Recent heated discussions further underscore the strategic importance of shaping the core standards and technologies for the next generation of networks. While many things remain unclear, it is certain that 6G will deliver breakthroughs in speed, latency, and bandwidth, far surpassing what 5G can achieve.

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

China aims to bring 6G technology into commercial application by 2030. Accordingly, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Jin Zhuanglong, affirmed: "We will invest heavily in research and development of 6G technology, aiming for groundbreaking technological breakthroughs."

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

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

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

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

According to the latest figures from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with over 3.8 million 5G base stations installed, accounting for 60% of the total global 5G base stations as of the end of May, China is leading the world in 5G network deployment. This rapid development has enabled more than 60% of Chinese mobile users to experience advanced 5G technology.

Notably, over 94,000 5G applications have been deployed in China, spanning industries such as manufacturing, mining, power grids, ports, and healthcare, demonstrating the massive scale of this technology's adoption.

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

China has also quickly seized the opportunity and taken the lead in the 6G technology race. According to a 2021 survey by Japanese media company Nikkei and research firm Cyber ​​Creative Institute, China held 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 demonstrates that China has had a very strong start and is making continuous efforts to maintain its leading position in this technology.

In the telecommunications industry, countries that are leaders in older generation mobile technology often have a pioneering advantage in subsequent generations of mobile devices. According to a report by the financial firm China Galaxy Securities, this helps them lead the market and drive the overall development of the mobile industry.

Yang Guang, a senior analyst at technology research and consulting firm Omdia, commented: “China views mobile networks as core infrastructure and consistently invests heavily in them. This policy helps state-owned carriers fulfill their social responsibilities while also facilitating the development of related industries.”

Meanwhile, telecommunications operators in Europe and the US, as private businesses, prioritize profit. Therefore, they often prioritize cutting operating costs over investing heavily in building new infrastructure, Yang Guang added.

Strengthening cooperation to promote 6G development.

In stark contrast to the closed-minded approach of some countries in telecommunications development, China has emphasized that 6G requires consensus and close cooperation from all stakeholders in the industry, research institutions, and global application sectors. 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 greater efforts to strengthen international cooperation to promote the development of globally unified 6G standards.

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

Wang Zhiqin stated that 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 trials and testing.

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

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

Dong Yifan, a research assistant at the Institute of European Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, believes the race to establish 6G standards is becoming fierce. He stated, “Developed countries, led by the US, are trying to unite to regain the lead they lost in the 5G race. They understand that 6G is not just a new technology, but a crucial battleground for driving global innovation and industrial transformation.”

The U.S. move to form a small group to contain China in the international telecommunications sector is not simply a matter of ordinary competition. It is part of a broader strategy to encircle and limit the growth of China, a rising technological powerhouse.

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 made significant contributions to the advancement of telecommunications technology.

The US pressure on allies like the UK to remove telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies such as 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 Mobile Operators Association (GSMA), has warned of the risk of a “small yard, high fence” in the development of 6G technology. He emphasized that isolation in this field would be a serious setback, negatively impacting the entire mobile industry.

Instead, Sinclair called for global collaboration, where carriers, academia, research institutions, and technology companies work together to build 6G standards, in order to fully exploit the potential of the next-generation technology.

Major telecommunications companies are actively testing 6G technology.

Huang Yuhong, General Director of the China Mobile Research Institute, affirmed that the race to develop 6G technology is entering its final stages. According to him, China aims to bring 6G into commercial application by 2030, while the International Organization for Standardization of Telecommunications Technology (3GPP) is expected to begin discussions on 6G standards from 2025.

With such tight deadlines, 6G research and development activities are underway globally and in China in particular, promising incredible technological breakthroughs.

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

The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) test satellite is the first satellite to utilize the 6G design architecture, jointly developed by China Mobile and the Institute of Microsatellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China Mobile stated that this system utilizes domestically produced software and hardware, supports in-orbit software reconstruction, flexibly deploys core network functions and automated management, and enhances the efficiency and reliability of in-orbit satellite core network operations.

Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of approximately 500 km, these satellites offer advantages such as low latency and high data transmission speeds compared to high-orbit satellites. As a crucial platform for future integrated space-ground networks, low-orbit satellites can address the coverage challenges faced by terrestrial mobile networks, providing higher-bandwidth satellite internet services globally.

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

"To realize 6G commercialization by 2030, the base stations needed to form the 6G network must be ready by around 2029," Huang added.

According to a report by market research 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% between 2031 and 2040.

The Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, where there is a greater focus on satellite communications and related technological advancements, will lead this trend, according to a report by Market Research Future.

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

China Unicom stated that it will promote close cooperation between industry, the academic community, and research institutions to achieve collaborative innovation in 6G network technology and architecture.

Previously, Chinese companies 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.

A significant upgrade for 5G.

While the commercial application of 6G is still a matter of several years away, Chinese telecommunications companies are also working to develop 5.5G (5G-Advanced) technology, a significant upgrade to 5G networks in terms of functionality and coverage, paving the way for 6G technologies. For example, 5G-Advanced boasts maximum downlink speeds of 10 gigabits per second to meet increasingly diverse service requirements.

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

Wang Tao stated that 5G-Advanced is the path for the mobile industry to protect existing investments while creating new business opportunities. He called for continuous improvement in 5G-Advanced technology to maintain the vitality of the 5G industry and realize the vision of the technology's societal transformation.

Alongside the increasingly robust commercialization of 5G-Advanced, artificial intelligence (AI) is opening new horizons for the telecommunications industry. According to Huawei's leadership, 2024 will witness a profound convergence between 5G-Advanced and AI directly on mobile devices, ushering in a new era where smart services become an integral part of daily life.