ZTE's stand at a technology expo in Beijing,?Sept 22, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

NANJING - China is developing 5G technology and expects to debut mature 5G standards by 2020, according to a senior mobile communications expert.

"China has always attached great importance to participating in the formulation of international standards, and will hopefully play a leading and central role in making 5G standards," You Xiaohu, head of the Nanjing-based National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory, told Xinhua on Thursday.

China started research on 5G technology in 2013, and will probably complete a first version of its 5G standards by 2018, You said, adding the standards will become more mature over time.

5G technology will raise network speeds by 1,000 times and bring virtual reality, holographic images and other new experiences to people's lives, You said.