By 2020, nearly 50 billion things will be connected to the Internet. And with those connections will come new ways to collect and analyze data and automate systems. The U.S. government has only begun to dive into the Internet of Things, even while some tech companies are moving quickly in that direction. 

But in China, both the tech sector and the government are working together to build a vast Internet of Things system. Wireless carriers like China Mobile (CHL) and China Telecom (CHA) are not only connected devices to the IoT but also creating their own services. Click through the slideshow below to find out how China's IoT system is growing and how the country will likely keep its lead.