China launches second phase of 6G trials after securing 300 key technologies

China has initiated the second phase of 6G technical trials after concluding the first phase, which resulted in a repository of over 300 key 6G technologies, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) stated on Wednesday.

Zhang Yunming, vice minister of MIIT, said that the total telecom services volume increased by 9.1% year-on-year, with the industrial and information sectors contributing over 40% to economic growth.

By June 2025, China led global 6G patent applications, making up about 40.3% of the total, according to the China Internet Development Report 2025 from a national research institute tied to the Cyberspace Administration of China.

Unlike 5G, 6G will integrate sensing, computing, and AI more deeply, expanding wireless coverage from ground level to air, space, land, and sea. Ministry spokesperson Xie Cun noted that China now possesses the world’s largest information infrastructure, with over 4.8 million 5G base stations and more than 1.2 billion 5G users.

The adoption of 5G technology across various industries is rapidly gaining momentum. Sectors have initiated over 23,000 “5G + Industrial Internet” projects, including initiatives such as “unmanned mines,” “smart ports,” and “lights-out factories.” These highly automated facilities can operate without human intervention, even in complete darkness.

The combination of 5G and artificial intelligence has led to a significant increase in production efficiency. For instance, Zhang noted that a home appliance company that implemented its own “5G + AI” industrial vision inspection system experienced a remarkable 275 percent increase in per capita production efficiency.