(Yicai Global) May 18 -- China has built the world's biggest 5G standalone network, according to a vice minister.

China had constructed 819,000 5G base stations as of March, making up 70 percent of the global total, CCTV reported, citing Liu Liehong at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Each new 5G device user is by default using a SA network since yesterday, he added.

The shift means that China has made a direct leap from 4G to 5G with standalone networks that don't rely on the existing 4G infrastructure.

China has entered an "uncultivated area" as one of the first countries to commercialize 5G for industrial use, said Liu. The country needs to understand the technology and create a way to apply it with Chinese characteristics based on national conditions, he added.

The Asian country has more than 350 million 5G data plan subscribers, said Liu. From January to April, China logged 91 million 5G phone shipments, accounting for almost 73 percent of all, according to the MIIT.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi