As the sixth-generation mobile communications (6G) era approaches, the global telecommunications industry is entering a new round of technological revolution. Compared with 5G, 6G not only achieves a qualitative leap in physical performance such as transmission speed and latency, but also indicates the evolution of the information world to a new form of "intelligent connection of all things and integration of heaven and earth".
Against this backdrop, China is accelerating its efforts to promote 6G development in an attempt to occupy a key position in the global communications rules and technology landscape. However, China's ambitions are also challenged by an increasingly complex international environment and an increasingly fragmented standards system.
A new chapter in smart wireless
The official name of 6G is "IMT-2030", and the target commercial time is set at around 2030. Compared with 5G, 6G is not a linear technology upgrade, but a fundamental architectural reconstruction. Its core indicators are extremely aggressive: the peak transmission rate is 1 Tb per second, the air interface delay is reduced to 100 microseconds, and the number of connected devices per square kilometer can reach tens of millions.
What's more, 6G is designed from the ground up incorporating key capabilities such as artificial intelligence, perception, and non-terrestrial networks (NTN), rather than being added incrementally in subsequent versions like 5G.
To achieve these goals, 6G will rely on a series of disruptive technologies: terahertz (THz) bands, high-performance MIMO, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and integrated communication and perception (ISAC), complemented by AI-driven network self-optimization capabilities. Together, these technologies form a next-generation communication platform that is highly flexible and adaptable to a variety of scenarios.
Global standardization: the long journey from idea to implementation
The development of 6G standards is a long-term and systematic global project. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is responsible for the overall framework and performance definition, while the specific technical implementation is led by 3GPP. The ITU has issued a call for candidate technologies in October 2024 and expects to complete the submission and evaluation of candidate technologies between 2027 and 2029 to finalize the IMT-2030 standard.
At the same time, 3GPP is also accelerating its layout. Release 19 is currently undergoing pre-6G studies, Release 20 will be the main research phase, and Release 21 is expected to deliver the first implementable 6G specification by the end of 2028.
This step-by-step path requires both the development of 5G-Advanced and the need to prevent missed innovation opportunities due to technology roadmap lock-in. It is worth noting that, unlike 5G, 6G emphasizes close integration with the business model in the early stage of architecture design to ensure that the technical solution has a clear market monetization logic.
Figure: The Global 6G Race: China's Strategic Breakthrough and the Struggle for Standards
China's National Strategy: From Actor to Shaper
China has already elevated 6G to a national strategic level, striving to participate in the formulation of standards around 2025 and achieve commercial implementation around 2030. This top-down organizational model enables China to quickly integrate scientific research resources, mobilize industrial forces, and form a relatively unified technological path in China.
As a China-led 6G strategic coordination platform, the "IMT-2030 Promotion Group" brings together resources from industry, academia, and policy, actively participates in the process of international standards, and promotes the synchronous evolution of domestic technologies. China also took the lead in launching the world's first 6G experimental satellite in 2020 for terahertz communications testing, demonstrating rapid response capabilities in cutting-edge fields.
In terms of spectrum strategy, China has allocated the 6GHz (6425-7125MHz) frequency band for 5G and future 6G services in advance, with the intention of stabilizing the expectations of its own industrial chain and taking the lead in global spectrum coordination.
Technological pioneers: from domestic giants to international interlocutors
As a flagship enterprise of China's communications technology, Huawei launched 6G research as early as 2017 and continues to make efforts in the fields of AI-native networks, ultra-low latency, large-scale Internet of Things, and converged sensing. Its vision of "distributed neural networks" depicts 6G as a platform at the intersection of physical, digital, and biological spaces.
ZTE put forward the AIR DNA concept around the "AI-driven network whole process", focusing on the research and development of network data analysis function (NWDAF) in the 6G architecture to provide support for the deep integration of AI + communication.
At the international level, European manufacturers such as Ericsson and Nokia also maintain a high level of participation in 6G technology and standardization. For example, Ericsson and Intel are cooperating to promote subterahertz communications, and at the same time actively layout patent competition, striving to occupy a place in the future discourse.
Uniform standards? Or is it a split game?
A key question is emerging: will the 6G standard be divided by geopolitics and industrial interests? From an economic point of view, a globally harmonized standard will undoubtedly enable greater economies of scale and global roaming interoperability. At the same time, however, factors such as national security and industrial sovereignty are also pushing countries to seek independent and controllable technological systems.
On the one hand, China actively participates in international organizations such as the ITU and 3GPP, striving to influence the rules "within the framework", and on the other hand, it is also strengthening its technological independence in case of emergency. For example, some Chinese companies advocate a complete redesign of the 6G core network and avoid the use of 5G Core, which may be a source of disagreement.
More likely, there will be a "compatible but differentiated" 6G landscape under the IMT-2030 framework: China promotes its own unique "sub-standards" or extended specifications to balance international participation with its own national interests.
