A massive spending spree to roll out 5G mobile network – China’s latest business and technology news
A summary of the top news in Chinese business and technology for June 14, 2017. Part of the The China Project newsletter, which packages the top business, political, and cultural news about China into a 360-degree view of the country that you can read in just a few minutes a day. Subscribe here.
In December 2016, China Mobile announced it would begin testing a 5G (fifth-generation) mobile network in 2018 that would greatly speed up streaming and downloading to phones. The country currently has more than a billion mobile phone subscribers, around three-quarters of whom are on a 4G network. According to Caixin, a new report by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China’s telecom regulator, says that the rollout of 5G will contribute nearly $1 trillion to the economy, create 8 million jobs, and result in a “massive spending spree” that will “begin in earnest in 2020 when carriers and individual enterprises are expected to spend 274 billion yuan [$40.3 billion] before spending starts to recede in 2024.”
Caixin says that this spending “will directly benefit domestic manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE, as well as global giants like Ericsson and Cisco Systems,” but if China pioneers the global spread of 5G, it’s likely that Chinese companies will gain the most.
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U.S. weighs restricting Chinese investment in artificial intelligence / Reuters
“The United States appears poised to heighten scrutiny of Chinese investment in Silicon Valley to better shield sensitive technologies seen as vital to U.S. national security.” -
Chinese people are building, flying and selling their own helicopters, but is it legal? / SCMP
“Popularity of autogyros soaring but the thriving business is a legal gray area in an industry overlooked by regulators.” -
First homegrown cruise ship takes shape / China Daily
“The first cruise liner to be built in the Chinese mainland is expected to be delivered to a Hong Kong–based buyer in 2023, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of the nation’s shipbuilding industry.” -
China’s public-private partnership party / Nikkei Asian Review
“Through March, China had 14.6 trillion yuan ($2.14 trillion) worth of public-private partnerships, most of which remain in the planning stage. Still, the yuan amount represents a jump of almost 70% from the previous March.” - China plans to grow potatoes in space…like Matt Damon did in ‘The Martian’ / SCMP
- China’s consumers, factories hold up as property starts to cool / Bloomberg
- IMF raises China 2017 growth forecast again, partly due to ‘policy support’ / Reuters
- Millennials’ taste for designer beer adds fresh fizz to China’s boutique and old breweries / SCMP
