BARCELONA, Feb. 27 -- Chinese telecom giant Huawei and online game developer Perfect World agreed here Thursday to launch a joint expedition into the world of online games.

After nearly 30 years of development, Huawei has become the world' s second largest supplier of telecom equipment and third largest manufacturer of smart phones, operating in 140 countries and regions and serving about one third of the global population.

Founded in 2004, Perfect World is a leading Chinese online game developer and operator, and has been China's biggest exporter of online games for seven years, with some of its products developing a fan base in more than 100 countries and regions.

Thus it is safe to assume that the alliance will allow the pair of hardware and software titans to combine their respective strengths to tap into the increasingly lucrative global online gaming market.

Yet the formation of the dream team has significance far beyond the gaming industry. It is a landmark venture that serves as a good example for Chinese brands seeking to take up a bigger share in global markets.

According to their agreement, Perfect World will design customized games that can give full play to the performance of Huawei consoles, thus enhancing players' gaming experience.

Such mutual reinforcement is inspiring and illuminating. China, long reputed as the factory of the world, has been under a paradigm-shifting transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China," and plenty of Chinese products are already advantageous not only in price but also in design and quality. But individually they face high marketing cost and white-hot competition.

By joining forces with complementary partners, Chinese firms can boost each other' s competitiveness and improve their chances both to consolidate their already established presence and to expand their reach into new markets. Such success will also help promote the reputation and popularity of Chinese products in general.

In addition, the Huawei-Perfect World partnership also provides a promising approach to the popularization of Chinese culture. Besides the Confucius Institute program, much else can be done.

For example, Perfect World integrates Chinese cultural elements, like historical stories and martial-arts novels, into innovative and popular online games, thus quietly acquainting game players with China' s time-honored arts and traditions. There is something worth learning from.