BEIJING -- China's 5G commercial service has seen a good start last year with breakthroughs in various sectors, a senior official has said.

China had built 130,000 5G base stations by the end of last year, and shipments of 5G smartphones had topped 13.77 million, Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, has said.

The country officially kicked off 5G commercial use in 2019. Telecom carriers have invested a lot to build a 5G network, while mobile phone producers have scrambled to introduce 5G smartphones.

In addition to interpersonal communication, the vast majority of applications will be used in areas such as the Internet of Vehicles and industrial Internet, said Miao.

This year, China will continue to push for increased investment in the building of the 5G network, improve 5G services to meet various needs and remain committed to opening up and international cooperation to drive the development of 5G sector, Miao said.