China's over 800 million 5G users driving economic output

China now has over 800 million 5G users with 5G directly driving more economic output in China last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday.

China had over 805 5G users nationwide by 2023, driving total economic output of 1.86 trillion yuan (US$262.0 billion) last year, a 29-percent growth from the previous year, MIIT officials said during a broadcast conference on Friday.

Technology including 5G and the industrial Internet are deeply integrating various industries, which boost digital transformation and economic structure upgrades in China.

In 2023, China's industrial Internet core industry value reached 1.35 trillion yuan, covering 49 economic categories nationwide, Zhao Zhiguo, MIIT's chief engineer, told the conference.

It boosts green and low-carbon economy, promotes consumption upgrading, safeguards production safety, and fuels digital transformation, Zhao added.

MIIT will also push high-quality development for the automotive industry, with measures on favorable taxes, support for innovation in the chip, battery and autonomous driving sectors, organizing tests for vehicle-road-cloud connections and prevention of supply-over-demand risks, MIIT officials said.