Partnerships key to China's mobile carriers in 5G race

Chinese mobile carriers are setting up a string of cross-industry partnerships as the global telecom industry enters the final sprint toward the commercialization of fifth-generation mobile communication technology.

The country's second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd announced on Thursday it will set up 5G laboratories with partners such as Tencent Holdings Ltd and Baidu Inc to accelerate the maturity of the technology.

Also known as China Unicom, the company is conducting 5G trials in 16 cities, and plans to conduct business application demonstrations and pre-commercial operations in 2019, before the commercial launch of the superfast technology in 2020.