Home brands ring louder overseas(2)

TCL was one of the first Chinese mobile phone makers to venture overseas. By acquiring Alcatel's mobile phone business in 2004, it has rapidly upgraded in terms of backup technology. Meanwhile, its distribution channel of operators has largely been boosted by Alcatel's overseas network.

ZTE has long been the largest Chinese mobile phone vendor in the United States by working closely with local operators. By the end of 2013, more than 95 percent of its phones sold in the US were completed by operators, among which AT&T took the lion's share by selling 53 different models of ZTE phones.

Huawei sold 75 million mobile phones in 2014, among which 40 percent were sold in overseas markets. Emerging markets such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America saw the volume grew threefold last year. Apart from the US, Huawei has sought cooperation with 45 of the world's leading operators.

Xiaomi undoubtedly grew the most rapidly last year. It sold 61.12 million mobile phones in 2014. According to the third quarter report of 2014 provided by market research firm StrategyAnalytics, Xiaomi's shipments of smartphones as well as its market share rose to third place globally, only after Apple and Samsung.

Southeast Asian countries were its major targets in terms of exploring overseas markets.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China exported 1.31 billion mobile phones in 2014, up 10.6 percent year-on-year. The total value of exports surged 21.3 percent from a year earlier to $115.3 billion by the end of last year.

Last year also witnessed the first time that mobile phones have overtaken laptops and tablets in terms of export value in China.

Exports to the Middle East and Africa increased the most rapidly in 2014. More than 43 million mobile phones were exported to the Middle East last year, up 67.75 percent than in 2013. The value of exports grew 68.61 percent to $3.64 billion.

The number of mobile phones exported to Africa soared 59.78 percent to reach 25 million, with the value of exports up 65.96 percent to $1.21 billion.

The United States remained the largest overseas market for Chinese mobile phones. A total of 130 million mobile phones were shipped to the US, up 20.24 percent year-on-year, with its value of exports increased by 24 percent to reach $24.9 billion.

Even though the growth rate contracted slightly in the European market, Chinese manufacturers still managed to ship 129 million mobile phones to Europe, up 3.79 percent year-on-year. The value of exports increased 13.83 percent to $17.95 billion.

The average price of exported mobile phones increased $7.7 per unit to reach $87.9 last year. This is also the fourth consecutive year to see prices increase since the average price plummeted to the bottom of $61.6 each in 2010.