Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council Executive Meeting on Aug. 21 that called for an application-driven and moderately forward-leaning approach to building next-generation communications networks. The directive, the second from top leadership in less than six weeks after a July 10 meeting, covers foundational, satellite, international and converged networks, including industrial internet infrastructure. The meeting sought to expand smart-terminal use, develop applications such as smart cities and intelligent manufacturing, protect critical network infrastructure and data, improve emergency communications, and support an ecosystem led by enterprises with government guidance and broad social participation. The policy push came as nationwide fixed-asset investment fell 6.7% year-on-year in the first seven months, with the decline widening by 1 percentage point from the previous month. Infrastructure had become a larger drag than property, while private fixed-asset investment fell 9.4%, with the contraction excluding real-estate development investment at its lowest level in recent years. MIIT data showed 5.102 million 5G base stations and more than 80,000 5G industry virtual private networks at end-June. Institutional estimates put the next-generation network's potential upstream and downstream output over the next five years at roughly 7 trillion yuan, or approximately $1.04 trillion. Changjiang Securities estimates investment in the network at about 1.3 trillion yuan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period from 2026 to 2030, within total Six Networks investment of approximately 26.9 trillion yuan. The NDRC also advanced a 2+3+N coordination mechanism linking two power-grid companies, three telecom operators and computing-power enterprises, alongside measures to support private investment, domestic demand and the property market.