State-owned
carriers China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom unveiled their 5G data
plans on Thursday.
It
comes as Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in a power struggle over
trade and technology.
South
Korea, the US and the UK have all rolled out their next generation 5G networks
this year.
5G
is the fifth-generation of mobile internet connectivity. It promises much
faster data download and upload speeds, wider coverage and more stable
connections.
The
Chinese carriers had initially scheduled the launch for next year, but
accelerated the rollout.
The
superfast service is now available to consumers in 50 Chinese cities, including
Beijing and Shanghai, with prices for monthly plans ranging from 128 yuan ($18;
£14) to 599 yuan, according to state media Xinhua.
More
than 130,000 5G base stations will be activated by the end of the year to
support the 5G network, the government said in the statement.
This
would make it one of the world's largest 5G deployments, it said.
China
and the US have been fighting for leadership in the technology sector in recent
months, with Chinese tech giant Huawei at the centre of their power struggle.
Huawei
has supplied the largest amount of network equipment for China's 5G rollout and
has been in talks with various other countries to help with their 5G networks.
However,
the US has blacklisted the company, arguing it poses a national security risk
and has lobbied allies to shun Huawei from their 5G networks.
Huawei
denies this, and many in China see the US actions as part of its efforts to
curb the rise of the world's second largest economy.
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