(Yicai Global) Dec. 29 -- ZTE Corp. will ramp up research into 5G telecommunications by investing CNY3 billion (USD460 million) a year to support its 4,500-strong research and development team.

The company will focus on its core businesses and increase investment in research and development so it can maintain a leading position in its key markets: 5G, core networks, chip making and other technology, Chairman Yin Yimin said in a statement on Dec. 27.

ZTE is making preparations for the third testing phase of 5G in China, which focuses on commercializing the technology by 2020.

The firm has set up 100 pre-5G telecoms networks in more than 60 countries this year, closed more than 320 deals worldwide covering Long-Term Evolution and engineering, procurement and construction, and established a presence in 80 percent of countries that have 4G networks.

It has also been developing 5G-capable devices. It released the world's first smartphone able to download at a gigabyte per second at the GMSA Mobile World Congress Barcelona in the first quarter, and debuted its two-gigabit wireless routers at the Mobile World Congress Americas in San Francisco in September.