Science and Technology Daily:

What are the characteristics of the development of the information and communications industry over the decade? What achievements have been made? And what are the future plans for the development of 5G technology? Thank you.

Han Xia:

Thanks for your question. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the information and communications industry has made leap-frog development, with its strategic, fundamental, and pioneering role in the overall economic and social development having become increasingly prominent, providing a solid foundation and strong support for building China's strengths in manufacturing and cyberspace and for building a digital China, which is mainly demonstrated in the following five aspects:

First, with the infrastructure developing from copper wire to optical fiber, from the popularization of 3G technology to the commercial application of 5G technology, the comprehensive capacity has been improved by leaps and bounds. We have built the world's largest internet infrastructure with world's leading technologies. We have completed the transformation from narrow band connectivity to broadband connectivity and from copper wire networks to fiber-optic networks, with fiber-optic networks covering all prefecture-level cities. The number of users enjoying services at speeds of 100Mbps or above accounts for 93.4% of all users, and the number of users enjoying services of gigabit fiber-optic networks has exceeded 50 million. The number of 4G base stations accounts for more than half of the global total, and the number of 5G base stations has reached 1.615 million, with over 400 million 5G mobile phone users.

Second, major breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields have been achieved, and the strength of the technology industry has been significantly enhanced. Mobile communications technology has developed from "making breakthroughs in 3G technology" to "keeping pace with the world in the development of 4G technology" and to "becoming the world leader in the development of 5G technology." And the proportion of 5G standard essential patents declared by our enterprises has reached 38.2%. China has built the world's largest and most complete optical communication industry system, with some key technologies such as optical communication equipment, optical module devices, and optical fiber cables having reached the advanced international level and a number of global-leading companies having emerged.

Third, the innovative application of digital technology has been expanding from areas of consumption to areas of production, and the world's largest and most active digital service market with the greatest potential has been created. Internet applications have been fully popularized. The annual transaction volume of mobile payments has reached 527 trillion yuan. More than 20 million flexible jobs have been created by new industries and new business forms. And the cumulative number of applications in the 5G industry has exceeded 20,000. The innovative development strategy for the industrial internet has been fully implemented, creating China's approach based on the development stage of its manufacturing sector and working on addressing inadequacies, shoring up points of weaknesses, and making innovations at the same time. 

Fourth, information services are of better quality, lower price, and are now a digital service convenience shared by the public. Broadband connection covers all administrative villages in China. The proportion of primary and secondary schools connected to broadband has risen from 25% to 100%, and telemedicine has covered all impoverished counties. We have continued to speed up broadband and lower internet rates, with the average download rate of broadband networks increasing by nearly 40 times and the average rates for mobile internet services dropping by over 95%. Digital travel records have provided nearly 60 billion free inquiry services, strongly supporting regular epidemic prevention and control and the smooth travel of the people.

Fifth, the industry management and safety guarantee system were continuously optimized. A new regulatory mechanism based on credit management has been gradually established, and business operation compliance, the industry's ecosystem openness, and users' satisfaction levels have all been significantly improved. Hotspot and difficult issues such as telecommunication network fraud were effectively dealt with, and the number of complaints from users about spam in the form of short messages dropped to the lowest level in history. The national network infrastructure's security guarantee capability has been comprehensively enhanced, the data security management system in the industry and information fields has been initially formed, and the comprehensive strength of the network security industry has increased rapidly.

Next, we will thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important idea on building China's strength in cyberspace, comprehensively strengthen the construction of new information infrastructure, promote the extensive coverage of 5G networks, implement the "Set Sail" action plan for 5G applications, accelerate the large-scale application of emerging technologies such as 5G, and continue to expand industrial openness and cooperation to contribute to high-quality economic development and continuous improvement of people's livelihoods.

Thank you.