Ericsson optimistic on China's 5G role

But despite all of the market optimism regarding 5G, there remains concern that the high cost of 5G base stations, roughly 150 to 200 percent that of 4G base stations, may put big pressure on telecom carriers, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

However, Ekholm underlined that there is an urgent need for operators to start building the 5G network. "As data traffic growth doubles basically every eighteen months, by the end of 2019, many carriers' networks may not be able to meet such a big demand."

Superfast 5G technology can in fact help operators boost their telecom capacity with lower costs in terms of data traffic, he added.

Ekholm is also a board member at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. When asked whether he will help form a close partnership between Ericsson and Alibaba, Ekholm said partnerships will emerge when parties have aligned interests.