5G paves the way for the 14th Five-Year Plan and sets sail for a new era of digital economy

The year 2020 has multiple "identities" - it is a key year for the commercial development of 5G, an important year for concluding the "13th Five-Year Plan" and starting the "14th Five-Year Plan", and it is also the year for my country to fully build a moderately prosperous society and achieve the first centenary goal.

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In recent years, with the policy dividend support of the "13th Five-Year Plan" and the joint efforts of all sectors of society, my country's digital economy has achieved leapfrog development, the total volume of the digital economy has reached a new level, the foundation of digital industrialization has become more solid, the process of industrial digitalization has accelerated and upgraded, and international cooperation in the digital economy has steadily advanced. At the same time, with the emergence of new technologies such as 5G, big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and new policies such as "new infrastructure", all aspects of my country's social economy are moving forward at full speed.

The 13th Five-Year Plan has achieved fruitful results, and 5G has become a powerful "booster"

The information technology revolution is changing with each passing day, the wave of digital economy is coming, and the integration and penetration of Internet technology applications are profoundly changing people's production and lifestyle, and have an increasingly far-reaching impact on the political, economic, cultural and other fields. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, my country's national strength has become increasingly strong, and it has achieved fruitful results both in the economy and in science and technology. The emergence of 5G has added a "fire" to the transformation and development of my country's digital economy.

It is said that "4G changes life, 5G changes society". Since 5G was officially put into commercial use in my country last year, thousands of industries have "accelerated" into a new era of development. On September 5, at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "FTIS"), Wen Ku, Director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that my country's 5G network construction is accelerating, and more than 480,000 5G base stations have been built. The number of 5G terminal connections continues to grow. At present, the number of 5G online terminal connections has exceeded 100 million.

The rapid development of 5G is inseparable from the efforts of operators. On September 9, 2019, China Telecom and China Unicom signed a 5G network co-construction and sharing framework agreement, agreeing to co-construct and share a 5G premium network throughout the entire 5G life cycle and network.

On September 9, 2020, the first anniversary of the "marriage", China Telecom and China Unicom held a review and summary of the first anniversary of 5G network co-construction and sharing in Beijing and a meeting to promote the comprehensive deepening of co-construction and sharing cooperation. Relevant data show that in just one year, the two parties have built and opened more than 300,000 5G base stations, and 5G network coverage has been expanded to all cities at the prefecture level and above in the country. Preliminary estimates show that the two companies can save more than 60 billion yuan in construction investment, basically achieving the shortest time and the least investment to quickly form 5G network coverage capabilities, and strive to have SA commercial basic network capabilities before September 30. The accelerated deployment of 5G networks has successfully contributed to the completion of the "13th Five-Year Plan" development tasks.

Embarking on the 14th Five-Year Plan and opening a new chapter in the digital economy

The 14th Five-Year Plan is the first five years after my country has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieved the first centenary goal, and will take advantage of the momentum to embark on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and march towards the second centenary goal. 2020 is at the junction of the 13th Five-Year Plan and the 14th Five-Year Plan, and how to do a good job in the next step of development is of great significance.

Xiao Yaqing, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, specifically mentioned at the Digital Trade Development Trends and Frontiers Summit Forum: "2020 is the final year of the '13th Five-Year Plan' and the foundation year for the new journey of national '14th Five-Year Plan' development. The leapfrog development of my country's digital economy is mainly reflected in four aspects.

First, the total volume of the digital economy has increased. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the scale of China's digital economy has grown from 11 trillion to 35.8 trillion, accounting for 36.2% of GDP, and has become an important support for high-quality economic development.

Second, the foundation of digital industrialization has become more solid. China's software industry has developed rapidly, with revenue of 7.2 trillion yuan in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%, and its enabling role has become increasingly prominent; China's network capabilities continue to lead the world, with the country's fiber optic user penetration rate ranking first in the world, and 5G users exceeding 60 million.

Third, the process of industrial digitalization has been accelerated. China's manufacturing industry has made steady progress in its digital transformation. There are more than 70 domestic industrial Internet public platforms, serving more than 400,000 industrial enterprises. There are more and more digital and intelligent factories and workshops, and the effects of reducing costs, increasing value and increasing efficiency are very significant.

Fourth, international cooperation in the digital economy has been steadily advancing. China has organized and participated in the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting for four consecutive years, promoting multilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN, BRICS, China and Russia, and China and Europe, while bilateral cooperation is also deepening.

Fully unleash the potential of 5G and vigorously develop the digital economy

Standing at the crossroads of the new era, how to fire the first shot of the "14th Five-Year Plan" is crucial. Xiao Yaqing said that 2020 is the final year of the "13th Five-Year Plan" and the foundation year for the new journey of the country's "14th Five-Year Plan". The next step needs to focus on the following four aspects.

First, promote digital industrialization. Prepare high-quality "14th Five-Year Plan" big data, software, information and communication industry plans, and clarify development goals and tasks under the new situation; second, promote industrial digitalization. Promote the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, implement the innovative development strategy of the industrial Internet in depth, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry; third, serve digital governance. Promote national standards for data management capabilities, optimize the market-oriented allocation of data elements, and enhance data and network security protection capabilities; fourth, deepen open cooperation. Actively participate in multilateral and bilateral cooperation such as the G20, BRICS, China-Russia, and China-Europe, and contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to the development of the digital economy.

The key to the future development of 5G is how to give full play to the technical characteristics of 5G to empower all walks of life and further stimulate new momentum for the development of 5G. In this regard, Wen Ku put forward three suggestions at the China International Fair for Trade in Services.

First, we should continue to improve network supply capabilities. Telecom operators should focus on planning the construction and deployment of 5G networks, accelerate network construction in major cities, and strive to build a 5G network with wide coverage, advanced technology, and excellent quality as soon as possible. The industry should work together to accelerate the maturity of technical solutions such as end-to-end network slicing and break through the bottleneck of network supply capabilities. We should strengthen the innovation of 5G private network models in the industry, promote the implementation of 5G virtual private network construction, and accelerate the scale development of industry network coverage and applications.

Second, actively build an application industry ecosystem. Encourage communication companies to cooperate deeply with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and other companies to jointly develop comprehensive solutions for vertical industries. Accelerate the in-depth application of key areas such as intelligent manufacturing, Internet of Vehicles, and medical care, explore and form a replicable and popularizable business model, enrich 5G application scenarios, deepen 5G integrated applications, and build a prosperous ecosystem.

The third is to carry out in-depth international exchanges and cooperation. Deepen international consensus and continue to promote the improvement of 5G global unified standards. At the same time, in addition to international cooperation in technology, standards, industry and other aspects, we should also strengthen cooperation in applications, share excellent application cases, jointly explore business models, and promote the integrated development of 5G across industries in countries around the world.

All the past is a prologue. Looking back at the 13th Five-Year Plan, we have gained a lot. Looking forward to the 14th Five-Year Plan, we still have a lot to do. In the next five years, we will pave the way for new development with 5G, open the door to a new era with the digital economy, seek development for the people, and lay a solid foundation for the happy life of hundreds of millions of Chinese people.