China's rapid development in the industrial internet sector will offer huge opportunities for greater cooperation between foreign companies and Chinese enterprises, as 5G has become an important driver for its application, government officials and corporate executives said on Thursday.

Liu Liehong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on the sidelines of the ongoing third China International Import Expo that 5G and industrial internet are having a multiplier effect on industrial development, as leading companies continue to drive the integration and innovation of the two technologies.

The industrial internet, also known as the industrial internet of things, is a key sector in the country's "new infrastructure" construction. It refers to the broader adoption of advanced technologies such as next-generation wireless networks, big data, artificial intelligence and IoT.

"The industrial internet has entered the fast lane with increasing market scale ... and more efforts are needed to strengthen international cooperation to fully tap into its potential," Liu said.

Liu made the remarks at the 2020 International Industrial Internet Innovation and Development Forum held on the sidelines of the CIIE in Shanghai, a metropolis which is planning to promote the use of industrial internet in more sectors.

Wu Qing, vice-mayor of Shanghai, said the COVID-19 outbreak has accelerated the integration of digital technologies such as 5G and industrial internet with real economies. Shanghai, which has a sound industrial foundation, will step up efforts to widen the use of industrial internet.

Recent data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed China has already nurtured over 70 industrial internet platforms into ones with regional influence, with related applications covering over 30 key industries across the country. More than 350,000 industrial enterprises are connected to cloud platforms.

China has called for new infrastructure development, including 5G, artificial intelligence and the industrial internet to offset the economic effect of the pandemic and boost sustainable growth.

The nation is poised to lead the global industrial IoT market. There will be 13.8 billion such connections globally by 2025, and China will account for approximately 4.1 billion, a third of the global market, according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, or GSMA, the international association of mobile operators.

Luo Ronghuai, general manager of Aviation Industry Corp of China Ltd, which is better known as AVIC, said industrial internet has the potential to boost efficiency and lower costs of the aviation industry.