Coronavirus impact: China’s mobile base decreases by 19.6mn (digianalysys.com)

That's very strange, out of all things being affected by the pandemic, the mobile subscriber base would be right at the bottom. If anything, I'd have expected it to increase as members from rural communities who would otherwise not bother with a mobile phone would decide to take the plunge in order to keep in touch with quarantined loved ones or to manage things they'd have done in person otherwise.

EDIT: It just occurred to me the decrease may be linked to mobile phone farms for clicks/engagement/app installs and how their profitability may have taken a dive.

Difficult to speculate. Maybe there were less travelers flocking to China? Maybe there were less phones manufactured and tested in the factories?

Migrant workers didn't come back and no longer need a subscription. Others who had multiple numbers cancelled the second or third.

Whatever. It's a small drop, it barely registers and has a tiny impact.