COVID-19 continues to disrupt the 2020 conference schedule. The GSMA has officially cancelled MWC Shanghai due to ongoing public health concerns, and in light of the travel restrictions that have been put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The news is not particularly surprising after the cancellation of MWC Barcelona in February, although the GSMA did have more advance notice the second time around. The decision to cancel MWC Shanghai was made in consultation with health officials and government authorities, and the GSMA indicated that it will continue those talks to explore alternate arrangements in the coming months. If all goes well (and if health concerns allow it), the organization will try to hold smaller regional conferences in China in the second half of 2020.

The GSMA is yet to identify any specific dates or venues for those regional events. However, the organization is as committed to MWC Shanghai as it is to MWC Barcelona, and will start moving forward with plans for the 2021 conference.

The GSMA has placed a strong focus on the Chinese market, and recently published a series of reports on the country’s rapid 5G progression. MWC Shanghai joins a long list of events that have been cancelled or postponed in the past few weeks, with major conferences like ISC West and ID4Africa now slated to take place later in the year.