China will maintain a firm grip on its telecommunication industry, keeping it at bay from foreign participation until conditions are ripe for it to open it up, the Minister for Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) Wu Jichuan says.
'China will gradually make the conditions ripe to get in line with global telecom practices,' he said.
He cited as an example its German counterpart Deutsche Telekom, which had been in preparation for eight years before its listing last November.
'After the listing, there won't be questions of who can invest or who can't. Everyone will be able to invest. China's telecom sector will see a similar path one day,' he said.
He said China's telecom sector would see rapid growth, backed by the fast-growing telecom industry the world over and a robust economy at home.
Strictly speaking, China does not allow foreign investment in telecom operations. However, foreign companies are engaged in the provision and manufacture of equipment.