China's 5G development exemplary, helps bridge digital divide: GSMA director general

China has played an exemplary role in the development of 5G mobile communication technology and made impressive efforts to bridge digital divides in the world, an industry insider said at the just-concluded 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai.

Vivek Badrinath, director general of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), an international organization representing the interests of mobile network operators worldwide, said he believes that China leads the global 5G development.

"To a large extent, I would say the 5G development in China is exemplary. It is about leaning in to the technology, to use it to do what it was designed for. 5G was always about enterprise, which means that to achieve the full potential of 5G, you have to turn on all these features that are in 5G standalone and then in 5G-advanced. These features make a difference and what we see in China is a number of applications that actually translate into benefits," he said.

In 2024, the mobile industry contributed 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars to China's economy, and is projected to contribute a massive 2 trillion U.S. dollars to it by 2030, according to the GSMA.

Established in 1987, the GSMA has always aimed to bridge digital divides in the world. Countries in Africa and South Asia are still facing huge usage gaps compared with other areas of the world and China is helping these regions to catch up.

"I think China brings two benefits. One, the scale of the Chinese economy benefits the whole world in general because it brings down unit costs for everyone. And I think that benefit has been seen across the world. It's a fact that Chinese suppliers have been very active in South Asia, in Africa to bring their technologies at an efficient cost and that will help develop to bridge the digital divide," said Badrinath.

This year, the Mobile World Congress Shanghai, which runs from Wednesday to Friday, has attracted over 400 speakers from around the world to share their insights regarding leading mobile technologies such as the integration of 5G and AI.

The Mobile World Congress is the largest event for the mobile and telecommunications industry. For MWC Shanghai this year, over 30 percent of the speakers are from outside the telecommunication sector. The belief is that this will boost integration among various industries.

China's 5G development exemplary, helps bridge digital divide: GSMA director general

Enterprises from the United States are welcome to seize the development opportunities in China and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the country, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Beijing on Sunday.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC).

Noting that China-U.S. ties are the world's most important bilateral relations, He said it is hoped that the USCBC will continue to play its role as a bridge to promote friendly exchanges and the steady and healthy development of economic and trade relations between China and the United States.

It is also hoped that U.S. enterprises can fully seize the development opportunities in China, make good use of the potential of the Chinese market, and inject more stability and positive energy into China-U.S. economic and trade relations, He added.

Rajesh Subramaniam, board chair of the USCBC, Sean Stein, president of the USCBC, and other members from the delegation noted that the U.S. business sector is optimistic about China's economic development prospects. They expressed the willingness to further explore the Chinese market, play an active role, and continuously deepen the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

U.S. enterprises are welcome to seize development opportunities in China: vice premier