China’s telecommunications sector maintained steady growth in 2025, official data showed Wednesday.

By the end of 2025, the number of 5G base stations in China reached 4.838 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The ministry added that this translates to 34.4 5G base stations per 10,000 people, exceeding the national planning target by 8.4 units.

The sector’s total business volume, calculated at the previous year’s prices, rose 9.1 percent year on year. Telecom business revenue totaled 1.75 trillion yuan (about US$250.8 billion), up 0.7 percent.

Notably, emerging businesses such as cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data centres accounted for 25.7 percent of the total revenue.

In the realm of technological innovation, China’s declarations of 5G standard-essential patents accounted for 42 percent of the global total.

In terms of infrastructure, China has achieved gigabit optical network access in every county, as well as 5G coverage in all towns and more than 95 percent of administrative villages.