A national political advisor suggested more efforts be made to bolster the application of 5G technology in various sectors and launch a number of 5G-powered terminals and apps for individual users.

Zhang Yunyong, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the general manager of China Unicom's Yunnan provincial branch, said that China leads the world in 5G development and 5G technology and that it will become an important driving force in the country's economic growth.

The latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) show that more than 1.43 million 5G base stations have been set up in China, and the number of 5G mobile phone terminal connections has reached 520 million. The take-off of 5G infrastructure has powered many new technological applications, said Zhang.

However, Zhang pointed out that there remains unbalanced development for the application of 5G technology. Though cutting technologies like 5G, big data, and cloud computing have found a wide range of applications across various industries, such as 5G plus industrial internet. Yet, the applications of such technologies are still not fully integrated with real-life scenarios, he said.

Zhang revealed that China's major mobile operators have unveiled plans to upgrade traditional text messaging services with the help of 5G technology, adding that he believed that the long-term goal is for 5G messaging to be embedded in all devices, without the need to download related apps.

The 5G messaging service would allow users to send text, photos, videos, and audio content directly via the messaging function on their smartphones, said Zhang. He described how it will allow mobile operators to better interact with users and customize their communication services.

He also called for efforts to push forward the development of 5G-supported VR and AR headsets in a bid to provide more options to improve 5G users' experience.

In addition, Zhang stressed the importance of protecting 5G users' data privacy in accordance with the Data Security Law, the Cybersecurity Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law.