This undated file photo shows a staff member installing equipment on a 5G base station in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — China had built 3.19 million 5G base stations by the end of September in its push to propel the digital and intelligent transformation of the real economy, official data showed Friday.

Each 10,000 Chinese people had 22.6 5G stations by last month, Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a press conference.

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The application of 5G in mining, power supply and other industrial sectors has helped firms enhance efficiency and cut costs, said Zhao. Enabled by 5G, ultra high-definition videos, augmented reality and virtual reality are enriching lives and facilitating production.

The country has also made active contributions to formulating 5G global standards. By the end of last month, it was in possession of 42 percent of the world's standard essential patents declared for 5G technology, according to the ministry.

Friday's data also showed that the number of gigabit broadband users had reached 145 million in China by the end of last month.