Ye Tianchun, director of the Institute of Microelectronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivers a speech at a Sunday forum held on the sidelines of the 2018 World Internet of Things Expo currently underway in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province on Sept 15 to 18. [Photo/Xiang Wenjian/chinadaily.com.cn]

Despite achievements in recent years, the internet of things industry in China still faces a raft of challenges, said experts and business leaders calling for more efforts in boosting key technological innovation at a forum on Sunday.

"China, over the past 10 years, has seen rapid growth in the IoT industry and the enterprises involved, but it hasn't gained an explosive momentum," said Ye Tianchun, director of the Institute of Microelectronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Addressing the Huihaiwan Intelligent Sensor Summit held on the sidelines of the 2018 World Internet of Things Expo currently underway in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, Ye briefly analyzed the overall picture of the country's IoT development.

According to Ye, IoT is built based on the internet, and its deployment involves stages, including data gathering, transmitting and processing, as well as its applications in various fields.

Thanks to great efforts in network building, such as 4G and 5G mobile networks, China is playing a leading role in information transmission worldwide, he said. However, he added that the country's still facing such problems, such as undevelopment in sensors, which act as key components to collect data for IoT applications.

"Sensor development is still our greatest weakness in the IoT industry," he said, attaching great significance to making technological breakthroughs in sensors and integrated circuits.

"The core technological competitiveness is the key factor that lies in the development of high-tech industries, which resembles the wings for an eagle,"he said.