China's industrial economy demonstrated robust growth in the first quarter, with value-added industrial output from large enterprises increasing by 6.1% year-on-year. All 31 provincial-level regions recorded positive growth, with over 80% of industrial sectors expanding. The industrial sector contributed nearly 40% to the overall economic growth.
At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on April 21, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) detailed the progress in industrial and information technology development for the first quarter of 2026 and addressed key industry concerns.
**Advancing Deep Coverage of 5G and Gigabit Optical Networks** Xie Cun, spokesperson for MIIT and Director of the Information and Communication Development Department, reported that by the end of March, the total number of 5G base stations nationwide had reached 4.958 million. The number of 10G PON ports capable of providing gigabit network services reached 32.01 million. Pilot deployments of 10-gigabit optical networks are underway in 168 communities, factories, and parks across 86 cities, while 5G-Advanced (5G-A) networks now cover 330 cities. The mobile Internet of Things (IoT) sector is thriving, with terminal users numbering 2.948 billion.
Xie Cun stated that China has achieved gigabit network coverage in all counties and 5G coverage in all townships. Broadband access has been fully implemented in administrative villages, with over 95% having 5G coverage. Border management and trade institutions have achieved 100% 4G/5G network coverage. Deep network coverage has been established in 269,000 key locations, while continuous network coverage spans 654,000 kilometers of highways and railways and 316 subway lines.
Xie Cun mentioned that 5G and gigabit optical networks have been integrated into 91 out of 97 major categories of the national economy. In healthcare, 5G applications cover the entire process from pre-hospital emergency care to in-hospital emergency treatment, hospitalization, and rehabilitation, with implementations in over 500 top-tier hospitals. In education, 5G applications span teaching, examination, evaluation, school management, and administration, deployed in nearly 3,000 primary and secondary schools, vocational institutions, and universities.
Xie Cun outlined MIIT's next steps, focusing on three key areas: 1. **Leveraging Advantages:** Promoting deep coverage of 5G and gigabit optical networks, continuing the "Signal Enhancement" campaign, and deepening the "Broadband Frontier" and "Broadband Forestry & Grassland" initiatives to continuously improve network coverage and supply capacity. 2. **Promoting Upgrades:** Accelerating the large-scale commercial use of 5G-A, conducting 10-gigabit optical network pilots in an orderly manner, evolving "Dual Gigabit" networks towards "Dual 10-Gigabit," and speeding up the development of the "Intelligent Connectivity of Everything" mobile IoT. 3. **Enhancing Coordination:** Systematically planning R&D for cutting-edge technologies like 6G and the next-generation internet, and promoting collaborative innovation between the information communication industry and vertical sectors.
**Creating an Upgraded Version of "5G + Industrial Internet"** This year's Government Work Report called for building an upgraded version of "5G + Industrial Internet." Xie Cun stated that MIIT will focus on enhancing this initiative by comprehensively improving capabilities in network infrastructure, technology products, integrated applications, industrial ecosystems, and public services. This involves accelerating the integration of Information Technology (IT), Communication Technology (CT), Operational Technology (OT), and Data Technology (DT) to create new industrial networks represented by 5G, and rapidly integrating "5G + Industrial Internet" into key sectors of the real economy to provide solid support for intelligent, green, and integrated manufacturing development.
Specific measures include: 1. **Strengthening Factor Support:** Expediting the issuance of the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Industrial Internet," coordinating the development of the five core functions—network, identification, platform, data, and security—and improving the five systems: policy, infrastructure, technology, application, and ecosystem. Accelerating the formulation and release of foundational, key technical, and typical application standards. 2. **Deepening Collaborative Innovation:** Launching pilot projects for industrial 5G standalone private networks in sectors like raw materials, equipment manufacturing, and consumer goods. Regularly publishing catalogs of new industrial network products, encouraging industrial enterprises to adopt technologies like Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and information models for network upgrades, and implementing the "5G Factory" initiative to increase both quantity and quality. 3. **Promoting Large-Scale Application:** Developing application guidelines for integrating industrial internet with key industries, using scenario-based guidance to drive widespread adoption. Implementing actions to integrate industrial internet with artificial intelligence for empowerment, accelerating infrastructure upgrades, capability optimization, and application innovation to provide a crucial foundation for AI applications in industry. 4. **Optimizing the Industrial Ecosystem:** Organizing the "Industrial Internet Integration into Parks - Hundred Cities Thousand Parks" campaign to bring policies, infrastructure, technology, standards, applications, enterprises, and services into parks, clusters, and bases. Launching the second batch of "5G + Industrial Internet" integrated application city clusters, and fostering leading, innovative high-level industrial clusters.
**Driving Future Industries from the 'Lab' to the 'Market'** Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Zhang Yunming, emphasized MIIT's commitment to implementing the Party Central Committee and State Council's decisions on future industries. Key progress includes: 1. **Refining Key Tracks:** MIIT, along with other departments, issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of Future Industries" to systematically plan future industry sectors. 2. **Strengthening Cutting-Edge Technology Supply:** Leveraging national major S&T projects to increase support for future industries. Over 100 "unveiling the list and commissioning" innovation tasks have been deployed in key areas like quantum technology and clean, low-carbon hydrogen. Systematic deployment of manufacturing innovation centers and pilot testing platforms in key future industry fields is helping transform "good ideas from the lab" into "good products on the production line." 3. **Unleashing Enterprise Vitality:** Cultivating 509,000 high-tech enterprises, with 193 innovative industrial clusters aggregating 54,000 innovative companies. 4. **Optimizing the Ecosystem:** Hosting the Zhongguancun Forum - Future Industry Innovation and Development Forum for three consecutive years and guiding regions to establish provincial-level future industry pilot zones based on local conditions.
The key to moving future industries from the "laboratory" to the "mass market" is adhering to the principle of "industry posing questions, science providing answers," and removing bottlenecks between technological innovation and market demand. Zhang Yunming stated that for technology supply, R&D tasks will be anchored to actual industrial needs, strengthening the coordinated advancement of basic and applied research. The construction of manufacturing innovation centers and pilot platforms will be promoted to accelerate the transition of original technologies to pilot testing and large-scale production. For policy support, efforts will coordinate the formulation of universal policies and sector-specific policies, issuing broad policies for common needs and targeted support policies for specific sub-sectors to accelerate high-quality development in new fields.
**Using AI Technology to Enhance Public Consumption Experience** The outline for the "16th Five-Year Plan" explicitly calls for "integrating efforts to benefit people's livelihoods with promoting consumption and investment, closely linking investment in physical assets and investment in human capital, using new demand to guide new supply, and creating new demand through new supply." Tao Qing, spokesperson for MIIT and Director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau, stated that MIIT will focus on implementing the "16th Five-Year Plan" outline and the Government Work Report requirements by concentrating on one "blueprint," one "task," and one "article."
Specifically: 1. **Drawing a New Blueprint:** Issuing and implementing high-quality development policy for light industry, textiles, bio-manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period. Formulating action plans for the textile and light industry sectors where standards lead industrial optimization and upgrading. Vigorously cultivating new growth points such as historical classic industries, elderly and child care, local specialty foods, and innovative ethnic medicines, thereby strengthening the industrial foundation at the source and turning policy documents from paper into practice, making people's needs a reality. 2. **Addressing the Supply-Demand Imperative:** Accelerating the implementation of plans to enhance the adaptability between consumer goods supply and demand. Systematically promoting the construction of a "China Famous Consumer Products" matrix. Expanding the supply of small-but-beautiful, small-but-refined, and small-but-unique products in areas like health, national trend, elderly-friendly, maternal and child, and cultural and creative products. Building a diverse, personalized, and high-quality product system. 3. **Crafting the Experience Article:** Deeply implementing the "AI + Three Improvements" (product variety, quality, brand) special action. Researching and issuing application guidelines for AI empowerment in key industries. Accelerating the construction of approximately 20 specialized large models and high-quality datasets in the consumer goods sector. Vigorously developing new models like flexible production, intelligent supply chains, and personalized customization. Creating immersive, participatory, and interactive diverse consumption scenarios. Using AI technology to enhance the public consumption experience, making technology more humane, increasing willingness to consume, and improving quality of life.
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