China’s telecommunications sector maintained steady growth in 2025, official data showed Wednesday. By the end of the year, the number of 5G base stations in China reached 4.838 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

This translates to 34.4 5G base stations per 10,000 people, surpassing the national planning target by 8.4 units. The sector’s total business volume, calculated at last year’s prices, rose 9.1 percent year on year. Telecom business revenue totaled 1.75 trillion yuan (about US$250.8 billion), up 0.7 percent.

Emerging businesses such as cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data centres contributed 25.7 percent of total revenue. In technological innovation, China’s 5G standard-essential patents accounted for 42 percent of the global total.

China has also achieved gigabit optical network access in every county, along with 5G coverage in all towns and over 95 percent of administrative villages. The rapid expansion ensures that 5G base stations in China continue to support both urban and rural connectivity.

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