5G’s contribution to GDP in China is expected to reach almost $260 billion in 2030, which is 23 per cent of the overall yearly economic impact of mobile in China. Also, by 2030, 5G connections in China will account for nearly a third of the global total, with 5G adoption in China reaching almost 90 per cent, making it one of the leading markets globally.
Director-General of the GSMA, Mats Granryd, said: “It is great to see China, the world’s largest 5G market, commit so enthusiastically to the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative to help drive the growth and maturity of the technology. As China surpasses one billion 5G connections this year, we expect to see further investment and potential in evolutions such as 5G-Advanced, 5G New Calling and 5G RedCap to improve user experience and unlock new revenue streams for operators.”
The 5G market in China continues to mature, leading both to increased connections and broader economic value. 5G adoption is growing faster than anticipated thanks to the speed of network deployments and the maturing device ecosystem. More than 800 million Chinese mobile connections are already 5G. This year the proportion of 5G connections is predicted to rise from 45 per cent to over 50 per cent and become the dominant mobile technology in the country, with more than one billion total connections by the end of 2024.
With 1.28 billion unique mobile subscribers in China, a penetration rate of 88 per cent and mobile’s overall contribution to the Chinese economy in 2023 reached $970 billion, or 5.5 per cent of GDP, The overall ecosystem now supports almost 8 million jobs in the country and contributes $110 billion yearly through taxation, while operator revenues reached $225 billion for 2023. By the end of the decade, the annual economic contribution from China’s mobile sector is forecast to exceed $1 trillion.
