China will apply 5G technology to terminal devices as early as the second half of 2019, leading to the primary commercialization of the technology in the near future, according to an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

"China started 5G research experiments in 2016, and entered the third stage of system verification this year," Wen Ku, head of the MIIT information and communication department, said at the ongoing first Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province.

China has launched 5G cooperation mechanisms with Japan, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United States, with international companies joining the research and development, he said.

Wen said device manufacturers such as Huawei and Ericsson had participated in the development of 5G products to help create a complete 5G industrial chain.

5G networks, the next-generation ultra-fast networks now in the testing stage, will rely on denser arrays of small antennas and the cloud to offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than current 4G networks, and serve as critical infrastructure for a range of industries. It will see ways of life change in virtually everything from how we "interact" with our cars to how we use the products in our homes.