6G Photo: VCG

A recent warning by a former US official that Washington risks falling behind China in next-generation wireless spectrum reflects growing anxiety in US strategic circles, as the AI race increasingly hinges on advanced wireless infrastructure, an area where China has built an early lead through long-term planning and systematic investment, Chinese analysts said on Sunday.

In an opinion article published by Newsweek on Saturday local time, Paul Rosenzweig, a former deputy assistant secretary for policy at the US Department of Homeland Security, urged the US to speed up spectrum allocation for 6G, warning that delays could weaken the country's ability to compete with China in mobile AI.

The article said that mid-band spectrum, an often-overlooked part of digital infrastructure, has a "tight relationship with global AI leadership and is increasingly seen as a matter of both economic competitiveness and national security.

Rosenzweig claimed that China holds nearly four times more mid-band spectrum than the US and is moving faster in preparations for 6G, including its recent approval of additional 6GHz trial spectrum for 6G field testing. Chinese firms are leading on several measures of 6G-related patenting, he said.

By 2027, China is projected to have substantially more licensed mid-band spectrum available for commercial use than the US and most other major economies, according to the article.

The importance of mid-band spectrum lies in its balance between coverage and capacity, industry analysts said. The 6GHz band is a scarce, high-quality mid-band resource with large bandwidth, combining coverage and capacity advantages and making it particularly suitable for 5G and future 6G deployment, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Rosenzweig described China's investment in this field as "striking," saying that it shows the country views next-generation wireless networks as critical infrastructure that will help determine who leads in AI. 

"If American carriers cannot access the spectrum needed to build next-generation networks, the companies relying on those networks will face growing challenges competing at scale," he warned, noting expanding spectrum availability has become a national security imperative for the US.

Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday that Rosenzweig's article reflects a broader "strategic anxiety" among US elites over China's technological progress. "Washington is concerned that what happened in 5G - where China moved from a follower to a major participant and, in some areas, a front-runner - could be repeated in AI and 6G," Ma said.

Zhang Xiaorong, director of the Beijing-based Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute, told the Global Times that AI applications in the real economy cannot be separated from mid-band spectrum resources, as autonomous driving, factory robots, remote surgery and drone delivery all require fast, stable and wide-coverage communications networks.

"If China has a clear advantage in mid-band spectrum resources, it is like having wider highways for AI applications to operate at scale," Zhang said. "This infrastructure advantage is one of the reasons behind the US' anxiety."

The US increasingly recognizes that the country which first deploys AI at scale in the real economy will gain a stronger position in shaping the next industrial era, Ma said, adding, "That is why spectrum resources have become a strategic issue, rather than just a technical issue." 

In the Newsweek article, Rosenzweig urged the US government to act with "real urgency," criticizing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for moving too slowly in shifting the 2.7GHz band from federal to non-federal use in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission.

"The United States cannot afford years of delay in the high-speed race with China," Rosenzweig added.

As spectrum, computing power, standards and industrial application scenarios become the foundation for AI's expansion into the real economy, China's early 6G spectrum planning shows the value of long-term investment and is helping build an infrastructure edge in the next stage of AI competition, industry analysts said.

China's 6G industry is entering a faster phase of deployment and testing. In May, the MIIT approved 6GHz-band trial frequencies for the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, allowing 6G technology trials in selected areas and making China the first country in the world to approve trial frequency use for 6G.

The approval means 6G research and development will gradually move from laboratory simulations and indoor prototype testing into real-world performance verification in urban, industrial and other application scenarios, state broadcaster CCTV reported in May.

China's planning began earlier. In 2023, MIIT issued revised radio frequency allocation rules, becoming the first globally to allocate the 6425-7125MHz band, in whole or in part, for international mobile telecommunications systems, including 5G and 6G.

The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) also calls for promoting the buildup, construction and efficient use of new infrastructure, requiring efforts to strengthen technological innovation in 6G, driving the independent iteration of the mobile Internet of Things.

Meanwhile, 6G has not yet formed a unified international standard, and major economies are still competing for early influence, industry analysts said. China's steady progress in spectrum allocation, technology trials, standards research and industrial-chain preparation will help build a stronger foundation for future competitiveness.