China's total telecom revenue topped 1.7 trillion yuan (233.45 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, with a 10 percent year-on-year growth in the annual telecom service volume, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Xie Cun, director of the Information and Communication Development Department of the MIIT, said that since the beginning of 2024, China has accelerated the development of new information infrastructure, such as the 5G and industrial internet, fostering greater integration of the telecom service with the real economy.
He said that the country's information and communication industry is expected to achieve upgrade in network evolution, integrated application and innovation capability.
"In 2025, efforts will continue to focus on the 'construction, application and research' strategy, aiming to achieve three key upgrades in the development of the information and communication industry. These include network evolution upgrades, improvement of the 'dual-gigabit' network policy, pilot establishment of the 10 gigabit optical network, and orderly optimization of the layout for computing power centers," he said.
In terms of integrated application upgrade, China will launch in 2025 the "Set Sail" Action Plan for 5G Applications and "5G + industrial internet" upgrades, accelerating all-around and full-chain application of new-generation information technologies, according to officials with the MIIT.
In the area of innovation capability upgrades, efforts will focus on increasing investment in the evolution of 5G and 6G technology innovations, and gradually opening the telecom sector wider to foreign investment when conditions are ripe, said the officials.
Operating revenue of China's telecom sector tops 1.7 trillion yuan in 2024
Thai and Cambodian leaders must find a way to resolve their differences through talks and not on the battlefield, according to a former Thai foreign minister, who also believes China could be in a unique position to serve as a mediator given its strong ties with both sides.
Border clashes between the two sides have reignited since Dec 7 -- less than two months after the two sides signed a joint peace declaration -- with both trading the blame for instigating the attacks.
The latest round of fighting has left at least 19 Thai soldiers and 19 Thai civilians dead, with over 270,000 people displaced, Thailand's defense ministry announced on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Cambodian Defense Ministry said that 17 civilians have been killed and 77 injured as the Thai military forces have continued airstrikes and artillery shelling into Cambodian territory, with over 438,000 individuals fleeing their homes.
With the two sides continuing to point the finger of blame and trade accusations of attacks on civilians, peace talks appear to be a long way off.
Kasit Piromya, who formerly served as Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, urged the two countries' leaders to put people first, set aside their pride and find a resolution.
"The people must be the priority, not the victory or losses or the battlefield. It's detrimental and destructive to all. It is easy to arouse the passion, but [the sign of] great leaders, great statesmen is to be able to overcome the nationalistic sentiment and come back to the sense and sensibility and to start to talk with one another," he said.
China has called for utmost restraint and every possible measure conducive to a ceasefire to ensure de-escalation of tensions as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a daily press briefing on Monday.
China supports direct dialogue and consultation between the two countries, as well as the efforts of ASEAN -- and Malaysia, in particular -- to promote peace talks, and the pursuit of a mutually acceptable solution within the ASEAN framework, according to the spokesman.
Piromya said he believes China could play a constructive role in a peace process between the two sides.
"China has been having, I think, more or less an excellent bilateral relationship respectively with Thailand and Cambodia. So China is in a very unique and great position to bring the two sides, Cambodia and Thailand, together," Piromya said.
Former official urges Thailand, Cambodia to make people priority, end border clashes
