China’s mobile industry is moving from scale to deeper economic impact. A new GSMA report expects mobile technologies to add $2.1 trillion to China’s economy by 2030.
The estimate marks a major rise from $1.5 trillion in 2025. That year, mobile services represented 7.2% of China’s GDP. Productivity gains delivered the largest share, reaching $990 billion.
The report, released at MWC Shanghai 2026, points to 7% annual growth. That pace nearly doubles China’s projected overall GDP growth of 3.8%.
This growth reflects China’s rapid network modernization. Operators continue to expand 5G, IoT, AI, and cloud-enabled services. These tools now support manufacturing, transport, healthcare, logistics, and smart city projects.
At the event, Zhong Zhihong from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology outlined the next stage.
“We need to step up the planning and development of new generation communication networks and computing networks, promoting evolution for dual gigabit network to dual 10 gigabit network,” Zhong said.
He also urged stronger work on future network standards. China wants to speed research into 6G, while building industrial ecosystems around it. Zhong also said large language models should be “better integrated with agriculture, education, medical and other fields and sectors.”
Meanwhile, China has become a leading market for 5G-Advanced. By the end of 2025, coverage reached more than 330 mainland cities. User numbers passed 10 million by mid-2025.
Major operators, including China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom, have launched commercial 5G-Advanced services. Hong Kong and Macau operators have also joined the rollout.
China Telecom Shanghai recently launched a notable 5G-Advanced and AI uplink network. It includes more than 5,000 upgraded sites. The network supports peak uplink speeds of 1 Gbps.
This matters because networks now carry more diverse traffic. Connected cars, drones, industrial cameras, wearables, and trackers all need different performance levels. Operators must manage these needs in real time.
AI-driven resource management could help. It allows networks to prioritize services by location, demand, and use case. Stadiums, transport hubs, tourist sites, and live events can receive tailored connectivity.
However, revenue growth remains a difficult issue. Operators still need better returns from huge 5G investments. Competition, saturation, and affordability rules continue to pressure average revenue per user.
According to Hrushikesh Mahananda, a telecom analyst at GlobalData, China’s mobile services revenue growth is expected to remain modest despite the country being the world’s largest 5G market, largely due to structural challenges and intense competition.
As a result, Chinese carriers are expanding beyond consumer mobile plans. They are targeting private 5G, edge computing, cloud platforms, and industrial applications.
For telecom watchers, China shows both ambition and reality. Network technology keeps advancing quickly. Yet operators must turn intelligence, coverage, and capacity into sustainable business value.
