China's 5G achievements contribute to global development

HARBIN -- In a restaurant in Phuket, Thailand, 5G cloud-based multi-task robots lead guests to their tables to order, and then serve the dishes to them.

These robots are made by CloudMinds Robotics, a Shanghai-based tech company which started its cooperation with Thailand's digital service provider in 2019.

Products of CloudMinds Robotics have been replacing human crews in security patrol, hotel reception, caregiving, offline retail, temperature measurement and disinfection roles over the past three years, and are venturing forth in other markets in Asia and the Middle East.

"In response to the demands overseas, we continue to improve our technical merits and application capabilities, facilitating the transformation of local tourism intelligently through advanced technologies such as 5G," Huang Xiaoqing, founder of the company said at the 2022 World 5G Convention that just concluded on Friday in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province in the northeast of China.

5G mobile communication technologies are underpinning the digitalized, networked and intelligent transformation of economies and societies amid the new round of technological revolution.

After three years of official commercialization, China has become the most steadfast supporter of and advocator for 5G. It has built some 1.85 million 5G base stations supporting over 450 million end users, both accounting for over 60 percent of the global total.

With more than 20,000 5G application innovations, China endeavors to facilitate international economic and social advancements with its latest 5G achievements.

Recalling a case in 2019, when experts of China Mobile showed him the application of 5G on rare earth mining, Stephen Orlins, President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, said it surprised him that even though the control room was more than 1,000 km away, it could still guarantee and monitor the safety of the miners.

Such technologies might significantly promote economic growth and job creation in China and the United States, he added.

In China, 5G applications have been deeply integrated into intelligent mines, smart factories and digital ports, providing new motivations for economic growth.

According to the China Internet Development Report 2021, China's digital economy reached 39.2 trillion yuan (about 6 trillion U. S. dollars) in 2020, accounting for 38.6 percent of the total GDP.

"These advances highlight the role of the 5G value chain in promoting economic growth and sustainable development," said Zhu Juwang, director of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

"If different regions have different standards, mobile communication services will not be able to reach an ideal scope and scale, and the cost of telecom operators and consumers will also be higher," said Liu Jian, ZTE's senior vice president.

According to Liu, Chinese enterprises are actively participating in the construction, application and promotion of the global 5G network, as well as carrying out scientific and technological cooperation in the digital sector with other countries.

Qualcomm, a U.S. company also dedicated to international telecom standards, has been working with Chinese mobile communications companies for over 30 years.

"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we still maintained a 20-percent increase in staff numbers per year in China over the past three years. The strong momentum we see in the Chinese market reinforces our commitment to further cooperation with our Chinese partners," said Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China.

As 5G application enters a critical phase of rapid development, it is now facing more complex cyber security challenges. Chinese companies are therefore consolidating the foundation for cyber security with their innovations.

To promote the development and industrialization of 5G technology, global cooperation in production, education and research is of vital importance.

"The advancement of technologies in China is also a process for China to further open up and expand cooperation," said Gong Ke, executive president of the Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies.