The 2022 World 5G Convention opened Wednesday in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province under the theme of "co-creating a new 5G ecosystem for mutual benefits." 

The three-day convention, held online and offline, is sponsored by the Heilongjiang provincial government, the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

It features symposiums, exhibitions and investment talks, portraying technological progress and product innovation in 5G and building a bridge for inter-regional industry cooperation and connectivity.

Over the last few years, China has made rapid progress in developing a 5G telecommunication network in the country. 

The amount of 5G base stations in use across China has exceeded 1.85 million, and the number of 5G mobile phone users reached 455 million, Zhang Yunming, vice minister of the MIIT, said at the convention. These numbers account for more than 60 percent of the world's total.

The country will strive to add 600,000 5G base stations in 2022 and accelerate upgrading industrial internet, according to the MIIT.

The 5G industry in China has entered a virtuous cycle for its commercial use after three years of construction, marking a solid step forward in developing innovative applications and creating industrial ecology, said Xiang Libin, MIIT's vice minister.

With the deepening of commercialization, 5G technology will promote the mobile internet, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other key areas to empower various industries, forming a 5G ecology with cross-industry integration, Xiang said.

"Since the start of global commercialization of 5G, more than 200 telecom companies have deployed 5G commercial networks, with rapid development seen in the expansion of network coverage and terminal customer scale. The 5G industry insiders expect the number of 5G subscribers to exceed 1.2 billion by the end of 2022, with a double year-on-year increase," said Xiang.

Since 2019, the World 5G Convention has also been held in Beijing and Guangdong, keeping pace with the rhythm of business and industrial development.