Locally-made mobile phones are gaining popularity in China, and pose a strong challenge to major foreign players in the industry.

Demand for China-made mobile phones increased during the past year, in part thanks to their extensive sales network and low to medium price range.

This market shift has prompted the likes of Motorola, Nokia, Siemens and Sony-Ericsson to boost their product development.

Patrick S. Kung, the Corporate Vice President of Motorola at GM PCS North China says that Chinese brands like TCL, Bird are very strong competitors. Motorola respects them and welcome the competition.

China now has more than 300 million mobile phone users, with nearly six million new subscribers each month.

(CRI.com September 1, 2004)