China plans to spend 7 trillion yuan (US$1 trillion) on next-generation national infrastructure during its current five-year plan, with 6G networks named as a central priority alongside a 2030 target for launch.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the tech plan roughly a month ago. It names 5G-Advanced, AI, computing power and gigabit broadband as priorities alongside 6G, but sets no detailed timetable for the next-generation mobile standard. The 2030 date is a goal, not a schedule.

China has hit some concrete milestones. Regulators have approved 6GHz as a core 6G spectrum band. Device prototype trials are complete, with one test achieving a downlink speed of 10 Gbit/s. The first round of 6G trials finished at the end of last year. According to local media, the second phase is underway and will run until the end of 2027.

Beyond that, detail is scarce. Officials have claimed Chinese firms achieved "breakthroughs" in 300 core 6G technologies, without elaborating. The names of organizations participating in the trials have not been disclosed.

What did the Beijing expo reveal?

Some of the clearest signals came from operator exhibits at the annual PT Expo in Beijing last month, as reported by local media.

China Telecom was the most forthcoming. It showcased what it calls a "collaborative architecture" for ubiquitous coverage: a single central network supported by multiple distributed subnets. Examples included an 800MHz cellular passive IoT subnet and a low-altitude subnet using non-cellular connectivity.

The operator also demonstrated a prototype terminal built with Purple Mountain Laboratories. It is based on the 3GPP non-terrestrial network (NTN) standard and supports satellite-to-ground handover. That matters because NTN sits inside the formal 3GPP standards track, making it one of the few disclosed elements of China's 6G work aligned with global standardization.

China Mobile pointed the same direction but offered fewer specifics. It exhibited on-board distributed edge computing for 6G as part of a space-ground connectivity vision.

What is the 'six networks' plan?

The macro framework is the 'six networks' concept: building the next generation of national infrastructure in a coordinated way. The six pieces are:

• Cloud and data centers
• Next-gen telecom networks, including 6G
• A new energy grid
• Logistics networks
• Water networks
• Urban underground pipe networks

The 7 trillion yuan covers all six. 6G is one component, not the whole figure.

Does centralized planning deliver?

The practical question is whether this model works. Centralized planning takes a big-picture view, but it is slow, applies cookie-cutter methods that often fit local conditions poorly, and routinely meets bureaucratic resistance.

The evidence is mixed. The 'east-west' computing project aimed to build AI infrastructure in western China, where energy is cheap and abundant, to serve the economic engines of the eastern seaboard. It has not turned out that way. According to 2025 data, most computing power remains on the eastern coast, with western data centers mostly serving local inferencing demand.

What does this change for the industry?

For vendors and operators outside China, the story is pace and opacity. China has set a 2030 target, locked 6GHz spectrum, and moved into a second multi-year trial phase while disclosing almost nothing about participants or results. The 3GPP NTN prototype from China Telecom and Purple Mountain Laboratories is a rare standards-anchored data point.

The second trial phase runs to the end of 2027. That date, and the 2030 launch goal embedded in the five-year plan, are the milestones against which China's 6G progress will be measured.