China has taken a key step toward shaping the global future of telecommunications, as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially approved the trial spectrum in the 6GHz band for 6G technology development.

The approval, granted to the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, authorizes 6G technology trials in selected regions. The move is aimed at advancing technical research, testing and validation based on the key scenarios and performance indicators defined by the International Telecommunication Union for 6G.

Announced on Friday, the approval enables Chinese engineers to conduct real-world testing in urban and industrial environments, a critical step that transitions 6G research from controlled laboratory experiments to field trials involving practical challenges such as signal penetration and equipment interference, experts said.

Zhu Fusheng, president of the Guangdong Communications and Networks Institute, said: "You can't build a house without land. For wireless communications, frequency is that land. Until now, 6G didn't have a home in the crowded spectrum."

"Now that the frequencies are set, the starting gun for the entire industry has been fired," he added.

The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, as China's top-level coordination platform for 6G research and development, is led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT. It integrates the efforts of telecom operators, as well as Chinese and foreign communication companies including Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, Ericsson and Nokia, along with universities.

The move is part of China's broader push to advance research and standardization of 6G technology, which is expected to be not just faster than 5G but also support the integration of space, air, terrestrial and maritime communication technologies, experts said.

China aims to commercialize 6G by around 2030.

Experts said the approved 6GHz band has been hailed within the telecommunications industry as the "golden spectrum". The band combines long transmission distances, substantial bandwidth and low latency.

These technical advantages make it optimal for 6G hallmark applications such as holographic communication, while also balancing the costs of base stations with the compatibility of terminal devices. It is a critical frequency resource for the smooth evolution from 5G to 6G, experts added.

Yuan Shuai, deputy director of the investment department of the China City Development Academy, said the approval signifies that "China's 6G R&D has formally moved from technical verification in laboratories to the key stage of field testing of prototypes and systematic solutions".

According to the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, China's 6G tech trials, divided into three phases, begin with key technology exploration, proceed to technical solution verification through prototype development, and culminate in system networking testing with precommercial 6G equipment.

China completed the first phase by 2025, which had focused on theoretical exploration and stockpiling of more than 300 core technologies. The second-phase trials are scheduled to continue through the end of 2027.

China is not alone in the race for 6G leadership. In December 2025, the White House issued the Winning the 6G Race memorandum, elevating 6G development to a strategic priority of the United States and directing immediate plans for freeing up government-held spectrum for 6G expansion.

Du Ying, deputy director of the wireless and mobile communications research institute at the CAICT, said, "By 2035, with the large-scale commercial deployment of 6G, China is expected to cultivate a 1-trillion-yuan ($147 billion) 6G industry and application market."

Progress is underway. At the China Mobile 6G open laboratory, researchers are showcasing pilot applications. For instance, glasses-free 3D video calls make people and objects leap off the flat screen, creating a vivid sense of spatial depth, as if the person on the other end is sitting right in front of you.

Meanwhile, 6G base stations can have integrated sensing and communication capabilities. They can not only handle data transmission, but also function as radar systems, enabling real-time detection of airborne objects within their coverage zones, which can support the low-altitude economy like drone delivery, China Mobile said.