Chinese telecom giant ZTE and video streaming service iQIYI announced on Wednesday to have inked partnership with leading network operator China Unicom to promote the application of 5G in terminal devices.

Shares of ZTE and iQIYI rose around 2.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively around midday, pushing the two firms' market capitalization to nearly 18.2 billion U.S. dollars and nearly 13.2 billion dollars separately.

The partnership came just three weeks after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued official 5G licenses for commercial use to the country's three network operating heavyweights: China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Broadcasting Network.

Under their agreement, ZTE and China Unicom will set up a joint operation team for the development and application of 5G Live TV innovations and 5G network technologies.

The large bandwidth of 5G network will ensure the shoot-and-transmit capability of multi-camera video sources for its 5G Live TV, ZTE said in a statement on Wednesday.

The smart recognition technology of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) will facilitate real-time processing and distribution of video content for the 5G TV.

As per their collaboration, iQIYI will team up with China Unicom to establish a joint research and development center for innovation and application of 5G in terminal devices, covering high-end technologies such as 5G network slicing, 5G MEC, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Both sides will provide the center with research resources, including testing grounds for 5G technology, as well as testing space and equipment to upgrade 5G VR/AR terminal devices and optimize the industrial value, iQIYI said in a Wednesday statement.

The agreement came following the online entertainment service's 5G-related partnerships with China Telecom and China Mobile, in a bid to explore China's prospering 5G market.