The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry to boost high-quality development in the sector.

According to MIIT, the 2026-2030 period is an important stage for the industry to consolidate and improve its development advantages. Driven by AI and other new-generation information and communications technologies, domestic technological innovation and industrial integration are accelerating, bringing important opportunities for industrial upgrading.

However, the industry still faces weak links in infrastructure capacity, core technologies, integrated applications and governance systems. The plan will guide steady and high-quality industrial progress in the next five years.

There are clear development targets for 2030. China will build a comprehensively covered and high-performance new-generation communication network, and develop an advanced, secure and controllable information and communications industrial system.

The industry's governance capacity will be improved with coordinated technical and regulatory measures, strengthened practical network and data security safeguards, and enhanced empowering capabilities. A solid foundation for the modernization of the information and communications industry will be established by 2035.

The document contains 13 major development indicators covering overall growth, innovation-driven development, green development, infrastructure building and application promotion, aiming for balanced progress in both quantity and quality.

Key goals for 2030 include industrial revenue reaching 4.1 trillion RMB, a cumulative information infrastructure investment of 3.8 trillion RMB, and an average annual growth rate of seven percent in telecom business volume.

In addition, per 10,000 people, 50 5G and 5G-A base stations will be established, as well as an intelligent computing scale of 9,800 EFLOPS, and a 95 percent user penetration rate for 5G and 5G-A services.

To advance infrastructure construction, four special columns will be launched on network quality upgrading, computing infrastructure improvement, space-ground integrated development, and intelligent Internet construction.

To strengthen industrial competitiveness, the plan includes two special columns focusing on 6G technology research and industrial chain optimization. They will support core technology breakthroughs, stable industrial supply chains, and collaborative innovation among enterprises of different sizes.