That number is in addition to those for the Chinese local market, which comprise another 100 million or so. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCIEMEP) released the figure at the Canton Fair trade show in Guangzhou last week.
The value of the exports is US$74 billion. The three largest suppliers by far are ZTE and Huawei (both recently blacklisted by the US government) and Lenovo. The ZTE export figures include many to Australia, where is provides most of Telstra’s home brand low end phones.
HTC is not included in the figures – it is based in Taiwan. But the numbers do include phones made in China for other suppliers, such as Apple. Most iPhones are made at Foxconn’s massive factory in Shenzhen, which has been the subject of much adverse publicity about poor working conditions.
China now makes more than three quarters of all the world’s mobile phones.
