The Yangtze River Delta, a leading economic growth belt in east China, has gained increasing notability for its global mobile communications firms and may emerge as the country's "Mobile Valley".

Nearly all world-famous communications companies including Nokia, Siemens, Motorola, Mitsubishi Electric, Bosch, Alcatel, Samsung and Toshiba have set up branch offices within the delta that includes the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Kunshan.

In addition, many domestic communications companies such as EastCom have also beefed up their presence there.

In Hangzhou city alone, the annual output of mobile phones is as high as 100 million units.

Last Friday, the Hangzhou Modern Communications Industrial Park was formally founded. At its opening ceremony, investment contracts worth 100 million US dollars were inked.

Shi Jixing, board chairman of the park's development company, said the park, with a budget investment of 200 million yuan (about24.1 million US dollars) by companies from home and abroad, will create an export value of five billion US dollars in the next five years.

The world's manufacturing base for mobile communications products was shifting from developed countries to China and almost a half of its production would be completed within the Yangtze River Delta, Shi noted.

As the number of Chinese mobile phone users has reached 200 million and continues to grow at a daily rate of 200,000, he said the country's potential in the communications sector is vast.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2003)