Digital connectivity
China’s government has long considered the internet essential infrastructure to upgrade its industry, boost competitiveness and for potential military uses. A combination of industrial policy, protectionism and entrepreneurship have led to the establishment of important telecommunications companies – chief among them, Huawei.
China was an early mover in 5G, currently the most modern mobile connection to the internet. Huawei and ZTE took part in early standardization meetings on 5G, and China deployed 5G in 2018, before most Western countries started their roll-out. Huawei’s technology rivals that of established equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson and is usually cheaper.
Now, the world is watching 6G, for which 2025 will be an important year. Huawei is already set to play an important role in this future key technology.
China’s strategy of building infrastructure first, assuming demand will follow, has worked very well especially in mobile and broadband internet. In disruptive internet technologies, this strategy is not possible. For instance, Chinese companies still trail the US satellite internet provider Starlink, which pioneered low Earth orbit (LEO), high-bandwidth satellite internet. China launched the first satellites in 2024 for Qianfan, an eventual globe-spanning internet network to rival Starlink, one of three networks intended to be operational in China by 2025.
Other technologies have seen less innovation in recent years but are still a focus of US-China tech competition. Submarine communications cables, for instance, have an average life cycle of 17 years, with recent innovation mostly focused on cost effectiveness. Since most traffic passes through submarine cables, both the US and China are wary about spying, and have thus competed for the location and control of many of these cables.
Graphics dashboard
China maintains dominance in telecoms patents since 2016
China’s globally registered invention patents grew sharply in telecommunications from 2010 to 2021. China surpassed the US in 2016 and has maintained its leading position, but its growth seems to have plateaued, suggesting that innovation in slowing down. Patent publications have fallen slightly in the EU, despite being home to two of the largest equipment vendors in the world, Nokia and Ericsson, after starting at a level close to China and the US in 2011.
Venture capital to internet companies peaked between 2016 and 2018
Between 2014 and 2018, many Chinese startups offered internet-based services, like the Internet of Things. With China’s tech crackdown of 2020-2021 and the reorientation of the economy toward the “real economy,” fewer startups focused on providing internet-enabled services.
China's 5G deployment dwarfs Europe's
China deployed 5G more quickly and comprehensively than any other jurisdiction. Expecting that demand would follow, China very quickly built out 5G capacity, and 5G subscribers followed more slowly. In 2023, China had the largest number of 5G base stations of any country, namely 3,215 million (for comparison: Europe had 356,000 installed).
Digital Connectivity in China: Timeline of crucial events
Development
Policy/regulation
China's Big Three state-owned telecommunication operators (China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom) launch 5G networks in China, almost nine months before the launch of 5G in Europe.
China establishes the SOE China Satellite Network Group (SatNet) to drive the internet satellite megaconstellation GuoWang (China Satellite Network), China's state megaproject for satellite internet.
NDRC launches "Eastern data, Western computing" megaproject to make China’s computing power infrastructure more efficient &sustainable, moving data processing to inland provinces with cheaper land.
Huawei presents 5G-Advanced (also called 5.5G) at the Mobile Broadband Forum in Doha. 5G-A is an innovation between 5G and 6G. Huawei was the first to develop a complete product portfolio for 5.5G.
National Research Centre of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (Wuxi) discloses details on supercomputer Sunway OceanLight, built despite US sanctions, may be one of three exascale machines.
China Mobile conducts the world's first low earth orbit (LEO) satellite test using 6G technology, driving forward its plans for an integrated terrestrial-space network with high speed and low latency.
A team from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications says it has built the world's first 6G field test network, an important step toward commercialization which Beijing wants by 2030.
China submits two spectrum allocation filings to the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU), revealing plans for a megaconstellation of ca. 13,000 internet satellites.
The powerful Central Commission for Cybersecurity and Informatization publishes Beijing’s most important strategic blueprint for the digital transformation, the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).
Second Institute of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) tests real-time wireless transmission using terahertz technology, important for 6G achieving 100Gbps on a 10GHz bandwith.
Details emerge about the supercomputer Tianhe Xingyi (Tianhe-3), developed by the National University of Defense Technology despite US export restrictions. May be it is the world's most powerful.
China has 3.2 million 5G base stations, 87 percent of the goal set in the 14th FYP. At the end of 2021, the EU-27 had only 256,000 base stations, according to the EU's 5G Observatory.
Shanghai Lanjian Hongqing Technology Company (link to private rocket maker Landsoft) files with ITU to launch Honghu-III, a network of 10,000 satellites, might be the third Chinese megaconstellation.
Recent developments
Domestic dynamics
- Measures by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) aim to improve the secure management of customer data. The measures, which implement the data security law from 2021, require data centers to prove their security capabilities for server hosting and for data storage and computing. (Source (CN): ST Daily, 16.01.2025)
- AI models boost demand for clouds and datacenters in China. Alibaba for instance announced a 380 billion CNY investment in cloud and AI hardware infrastructure. (Source (CN): Caixin Companies, 21.02.2025)
- 5G deployment in China is slowing down. To boost deployment, the MIIT created a “5G+industrial internet” plan for 10,000 5G factories, included 5G-A (advanced) in its major industrial innovation tasks, and announced large projects on 5G+ medical. (Source (CN): MIIT, 16.01.2025)
Foreign involvement
- After expanding its services in Thailand and South Korea, Alibaba Cloud launched a data center in Mexico, marking its entrance in Latin America. The data center offers similar services to leading US providers, but at a lower cost. Like Huawei, Alibaba has ambitious plans for a global presence with its cloud offerings. The overseas data centers will also support AI development. (Source (CN): Xinhua, 02.02.2025)
- Apple will deploy Apple Intelligence with local giants Alibaba and Baidu to follow local regulations. Apple is planning on adapting its models to fit Chinese censorship standards with help from local giants and deploy them from Chinese companies’ datacenters (Source (EN): Bloomberg, 14.02.2025)
Publications
Topics
