China's Zhejiang boasts over 60,000 5G base stations

A 5G intelligent robot delivers textile products at a workshop of Xinfengming Group in Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 30, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

HANGZHOU, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Zhejiang Province, an e-commerce heartland in east China, had built 62,600 5G base stations by the end of 2020, local communications authorities said.

The private business hub has also fostered many pilot projects to achieve scale commercialization in 5G in sectors such as industry, health and education, said Gan Meng, an official with the Zhejiang Communications Administration, at a press conference Thursday.

The added value of core industries in Zhejiang's digital economy hit nearly 702 billion yuan (about 95.11 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020, up 13 percent year on year, according to a report released at the press conference.

According to plan, the province will have 120,000 5G base stations built by 2022.

China has taken the global lead in 5G development, with a total of 819,000 5G base stations built by late May, accounting for over 70 percent of the world's total, according to Liu Liehong, vice minister of industry and information technology.