China and the European Union (EU) have signed a landmark partnership agreement on Sept. 28 that aims to pursue collaboration for the development of fifth-generation (5G) telecommunication network technologies, the China Business News reported.
Under the deal, the two parties have agreed to strengthen mutual assistance and cooperation on providing financial support for scientific research related to 5G, market access and the acquisition of 5G association memberships.
Gunther Oettinger, the European commissioner for digital economy and society who signed the agreement, said that 5G technologies will soon become the core of the digital economy and digital society around the world in the future.
Oettinger said that the EU's signing indicates that it is willing to work together with China as its key Asian partner to push for the launch of 5G technologies by 2020.
He praised the agreement as a major step toward successfully acquiring 5G technologies, the report added.
The EU is also confident that 5G mobile telecommunication technologies will pervade the world in the future and predicted that mobile Internet flow in 2020 will be 30 times that in 2010.
China and the EU have agreed to bolster cooperation in five areas, namely: to reach consensus on issues related to the concepts and basic functions of 5G technologies; study on how to conduct joint research on 5G technologies and encourage the participation of companies in the China-EU research; jointly promote the global standardization of 5G technologies; seek wireless communication band identification that meets standards; and conduct a joint study related to services and applications of 5G technologies, especially in the field of the Internet of Things.
The report added that the EU sees the agreement as an important milestone in its relations with China, which it considers as a major player in the 5G sector and the world's largest market for 5G technologies and products.
The EU also expects China will play a critical role in the process of global standardization of 5G technologies.