A consumer walks past a poster of commercial 5G applications outside a branch of China Telecom in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 31, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

A 5G network is expected to cover all China's prefecture-level cities by the end of 2020.

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- China will step up infrastructure development of 5G next year, according to a meeting by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

All the country's prefecture-level cities are expected to be covered by a 5G network by the end of 2020, the meeting said.

China greenlighted the commercial use of the superfast wireless technology in June, triggering a surge in consumer enthusiasm and an acceleration in industrial investment.

Some 126,000 5G base stations have been established across the country so far, MIIT data showed.

Shipments of 5G smartphones reached 8.355 million sets in the past 11 months. About 24 new phones were rolled out during this period, with some costing less than 2,000 yuan (about 285.3 U.S. dollars). ■