China vows to step up scientific, technological cooperation with all parties

China said Thursday it will grasp the development opportunities brought by a new round of scientific and technological advances and strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation with all parties, including in 5G.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the comments at a news briefing when asked about some countries' remarks that Chinese enterprises should be excluded from the construction of their 5G networks due to the "security risks" of Chinese products and devices.

As a cutting-edge technology, the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication technology is not exclusive to one or a few countries, but concerns the development of the global economy, the interests of all countries and the progress of human civilization, Geng said ahead of the Mobile World Congress 2019 scheduled for Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona, Spain.

The spokesperson said the global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain of 5G are highly integrated and could not be artificially separated or divested, or it will affect "mutually beneficial and win-win multilateral cooperation, undermine the open and inclusive market environment, and damage international rules of fairness, justice and non-discrimination."

"In the era of globalization, no country could develop independently separated from the world and no technology could be developed or applied without cooperation," Geng said.

In the process of developing 5G networks, China hopes all countries can make choices that conform to their own interests as well as the trend of the times based on their own independent judgments, he said.