(Yicai Global) Feb. 27 -- Shares in China's big-three state telecoms providers shot up in the early afternoon after China United Network Communications Group unveiled it had brought full 5G coverage to Tiananmen Square, a popular tourism area and political hub in the country's capital.

The  Beijing-based firm [SHA:600050], which is backed by tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.Com and Didi Chuxing and better known as China Unicom, led the charge by hitting the 10 percent daily limit up straight out of the lunch break. It had simmered to CNY6.68 (USD 1.0), up 9.31 percent as of 2.35 p.m.

The blistering start to the afternoon followed a noon report from state-backed CCTV saying the firm's Beijing unit had achieved full 5G coverage at Tiananmen Square, home to the National Museum of China and the Great Hall of the People -- where many of the country's top official meetings take place.

Rival China Telecommunications [SHE:000728], or China Telecom, also fared well as it rose 0.46 percent to CNY4.35, and China Mobile Communications [HKG:0941] gained 0.24 percent to HKD83.25 (USD10.61). Both firms are comfortably outperforming their respective bourse's benchmarks in trading today.

China is poised to become a leader in the world telecoms industry as 5G nears commercialization, something several domestic operators hope to achieve this year or next. Smartphone makers Huawei, ZTE, Oppo and Xiaomi all unveiled handsets capable of using the technology at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain this week -- the world's largest mobile industry exhibition.