China completes first-phase 6G trials, building reserve of 300-plus key technologies: officials

China has commenced the second-phase 6G technical trials after a reserve of more than 300 key technologies took shape in the first phase, said officials with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in Beijing on Wednesday.

Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Zhang Yunming said that the ministry is committed to advancing the deep integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation, with a particular emphasis on elevating the role of artificial intelligence in the industrial economy.

"During the first-phase 6G technical trials, China has formed a reserve of more than 300 key technologies. 5G and gigabit optical networks have been integrated into 91 of the 97 major categories of the national economy, while the industrial internet has achieved full coverage across 41 major industrial categories, injecting more vitality into economic and social development," he said.

China has established the world's largest information infrastructure, with nearly 4.84 million 5G base stations and more than 1.2 billion 5G users, said ministry spokesman Xie Cun, who is also the ministry's head of the information and communication development department.

"At the individual user level, China's 5G user base has exceeded 1.2 billion, accounting for 65.9 percent of all mobile phone users nationwide. China has completed the first-phase 6G research and development through technical trials, forming a reserve of more than 300 key 6G technologies. It has recently launched the second-phase 6G technical trials," he said."

Going forward, the ministry will further accelerate 6G research and development while stepping up forward-looking planning and fostering an application-oriented industrial ecosystem for 6G, Xie added.

China completes first-phase 6G trials, building reserve of 300-plus key technologies: officials

China completes first-phase 6G trials, building reserve of 300-plus key technologies: officials

China completes first-phase 6G trials, building reserve of 300-plus key technologies: officials

The death toll from a shopping mall fire in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi climbed to 60 after at least 30 bodies were recovered from a shop of the multi-story building, officials said on Wednesday.

The bodies were recovered from the mezzanine floor of the shopping mall, said senior police official Syed Asad Raza, adding that several people are still missing and a search operation is continuing to recover them.

He said that the rescue efforts are being carried out using sophisticated machines, and debris is being removed from the collapsed sections of the building.

The official said that the rescue workers are facing difficulties reaching some parts of the building due to smoke and heat inside the damaged structure, adding that one part of the building is cleared and the other two parts are being combed to rescue people under the rubble.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi said that an investigation into the incident has been launched as authorities look into the fire from multiple angles.

Death toll from shopping mall fire in Pakistan's Karachi rises to 60