(Yicai Global) Dec. 10 -- China will lead the world in the scale of fifth-generation wireless networks while Qualcomm expects to boost its business in the country that is transitioning to faster internet speeds, according to the US chipmaker's chief.

"China is likely going to have the largest 5G rollout and network," Cristiano Amon told Xinhua News Agency in an interview at a summit in Hawaii. "We are not backing down on our China cooperation." To this end, the San Diego-headquartered firm is increasing its collaboration in resources towards partnerships in China.

Last June, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gave the go-ahead to the country's three major telecoms operators, as well as China Broadcasting Network, to launch commercial 5G services. Qualcomm's Chinese partners, including Xiaomi and Vivo Communication Technology, have already rolled out 5G handsets.

No country wants to be late to 5G, according to Amon. China may have been a latecomer in adopting 3G and 4G but it is now at the forefront of 5G transition with other leading economies, he added. "I believe that is a sign of the maturity of the Chinese economy today."

Amon was seemingly impressed by China's fast 5G progress. If everything goes right, China should have 1 million 5G base stations by the end of next year, according to Amon. "That is going to build the infrastructure that will not only connect billions of smartphones, but multiple billions of other smart devices and industries that will benefit from 5G."

Editor: Emmi Laine