China will accelerate the construction of new infrastructures such as 5G networks and data centers, according to a recent meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

A staff member shows an internet-based hospital platform at the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University on March 7. (Photo/Xinhua)

Infrastructure projects in such fields as 5G networks, extra-high-voltage power transmission projects, inter-city transit systems and high-speed railways, vehicle charging stations, big data centers, industrial networks and projects exhibiting Internet of Things characteristics are all considered to be examples of new infrastructure.

5G technology plays an important role not only in epidemic control and work resumption but also in promoting investment, consumption and economic upgrades, said Chen Zhaoxiong, vice-minister of industry and information technology.

Some provincial-level regions have put the construction of 5G network infrastructure in their government work reports.

Central China’s Henan province is determined to realize full 5G network coverage in all urban areas above county level and will launch large-scale commercial use of 5G services in 2020.

Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality plans to build 30,000 new 5G base stations, while south China’s Guangdong province desires to form world-class 5G industrial clusters.

In addition, Shanghai vows to accelerate the construction of new infrastructure types, including 5G networks, data center and cold-chain logistics, so as to foster new growth drivers.

Meanwhile, China’s three major telecom operators recently also released their plans pertaining to 5G network construction. China Mobile will build 300,000 5G base stations in 2020, while China Telecom and China Unicom will work together to install 100,000 5G base stations in 47 cities across the country in the first half of this year.

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology forecasts that China’s 5G network construction investment will reach 1.2 trillion yuan, which will bring about 3.5 trillion yuan worth of investment in the upstream and downstream industrial chains.

On March 6, Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group inked an agreement with Yuhang District of Hangzhou, a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The agreement is meant to deepen strategic cooperation and speed up the construction of digital infrastructure.

Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba’s data intelligence backbone, has contributed significantly to the country’s anti-epidemic fight with its digital services. “We will spare no effort to enhance new infrastructure construction in terms of digital economy to help governments and enterprises build future-oriented new infrastructure facilities,” said Zhang Jianfeng, president of Alibaba Cloud & Intelligent Business Group.