BEIJING, May 24 -- China is making steady progress in constructing its 5G networks, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Wednesday.

By the end of April, the total number of 5G base stations in the country had reached 2.73 million, accounting for 24.5 percent of its tally of mobile base stations.

The eastern region is taking the lead in 5G construction and application, with 1.29 million 5G base stations at the end of last month, accounting for over 47 percent of the country's total, the ministry said.

The number of 5G users is growing rapidly. As of the end of April, the number of 5G mobile phone users of China's three telecom giants -- China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom -- had reached 634 million, a net increase of 73.08 million from the end of last year.