(Yicai Global) Oct. 16 -- Three of China's four great new inventions, online shopping, bicycle-sharing, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s [NYSE:BABA] third-party payment platform Alipay, are benefiting greatly from the rapid development of the country's mobile internet sector, state-owned broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday.

The number of base stations for 4G coverage in China reached 2.79 million as of May this year, making up 60 percent of all such stations globally. The country's mobile internet users represent the world's biggest market of its kind, having soared to 724 million from 420 million last year, data from CCTV show.

China has also initiated a research and development test of a 5G mobile network this year, which is scheduled to enter service in 2020.

The number of mobile apps in the country exceeded four million earlier this year, representing an eight-fold increase over the past five years. Ride-hailing apps receive an average of 40,000 orders during rush hour each day, while users of take-out apps now number more than 274 million.

Some 69 percent of all apps utilize mobile payment platforms, a five-fold increase since the end of 2012.

China also boasts the biggest market for online shopping in terms of user numbers and CNY208 trillion (USD31.5 trillion) worth of mobile payments are now made each year.