On October 23, the State Council Information Office held a press conference where Tao Qing, the spokesperson from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the Operation Monitoring Coordination Bureau, shared some significant updates. He revealed that 5G applications have now expanded to cover 76 categories within the national economy, generating an estimated total indirect output of approximately 14 trillion yuan.

Tao highlighted that this year, the ministry has intensified efforts to promote the application of new-generation information technologies, facilitating their integration into key sectors such as manufacturing, mining, electricity, and healthcare, ultimately empowering economic and social development.

He noted that the transformation of the manufacturing sector has become increasingly profound. The focus on “intelligent upgrades, digital transformations, and connectivity” has propelled the development of industrial internet integrations within essential industry chains. Guidelines for merged applications in key sectors like steel, electronic information, and construction machinery have been released, which helped create 40 typical scenarios across 15 stages including product design, scheduling, and quality control. The total indirect output from 5G applications in these industries has contributed significantly to economic output.

Tao also mentioned the growing vibrancy of information consumption. The variety of information consumption scenarios is expanding, with new application cases for “digital three products” targeting smart homes, textiles, and specialty foods being collected. This has fostered the development of new flexible manufacturing and digital marketing models based on consumer data, propelling the smart transformation of consumer goods. The supply of information products has dramatically increased, with smart terminals such as AI phones and smart home devices quickly responding to user demands. Data from August indicated a 20.1% year-on-year increase in the production of service robots.

Regarding public products, Tao discussed the advancements in technology applications. With extensive use of AI and 5G technologies, 135 new excellent cases of digital services have emerged, covering sectors like transportation, cultural tourism, elderly care, healthcare, and emergency services. For instance, in healthcare, there have been nearly a thousand pilot projects under “5G + Healthcare,” which have significantly reduced misdiagnosis and increased diagnostic accuracy through remote smart consultations and AI-assisted diagnostics. In the realm of cultural tourism, during the Golden Week holiday, emerging technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and geographic information systems enabled intelligent guiding, smart parking, and around-the-clock emergency services, effectively addressing tourists’ personalized needs.

Moving forward, Tao stated that the Ministry will seize significant opportunities for innovative applications of new-generation information technology, focusing on four key areas:

First, they aim to strengthen industries by advancing research and development in critical tech fields like integrated circuits, industrial software, artificial intelligence, and satellite internet, while nurturing emerging and future industries.

Second, they will work to cultivate leading enterprises within industrial ecosystems, improving a systematic approach to nurturing specialized small and medium-sized enterprises, and establishing a unified nation-wide mechanism for fostering unicorn companies. The goal is to develop a robust cohort of digital economy enterprises that are capable, dynamic, and competitive.

Third, there will be an emphasis on enhancing applications, through the rollout of high-quality development guidelines for industrial internet, deepening digital transformation initiatives in manufacturing, promoting intelligent manufacturing reference guides, and leveraging information technology to support new industrialization.

Lastly, the ministry will strengthen the ecological framework by solidifying institutions that promote a deep integration of the real and digital economies, collaborating on industry chain challenges, and cultivating competitive supply enterprises and product solutions to build a competitive edge in the industrial ecosystem.