China's Minister of Science and Technology said here on Monday that it is necessary for China to launch the third generation mobile communication (3G) service.

The 3G service will play an important role in promoting China's telecommunications market, said the minister, Xu Guanhua, at the China Development Forum 2006.
 
Xu said his ministry has kept a close eye on China's 3G progress and made careful analysis and investigations into the market prospects.