China tops world in growth of mobile phone shipments

China topped the world in terms of growth of mobile phone shipments, despite the first shrink of the domestic market in nine years that happened in the fourth quarter of 2017, said a report recently issued by market research firm Counterpoint Research.

The report attributed the growth to the expanding business of Chinese phone manufacturers in India, Southeast Asia, and Europe, which balanced the sluggish domestic sales.

According to analyst Shobhit Srivastava, the fall of shipments in China and Europe impacted the global smartphone market, which resulted in an unprecedented 5% slip of the global shipments.

Thanks to the strong momentum in the first half of 2017 and the prosperous overseas market, China’s largest smartphone maker, Huawei, shipped 10% more units over the last year.

However, the shipments of the company fell by 9% in the fourth quarter because of its unsatisfying performance in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

Another Chinese brand, Xiaomi, experienced a reviving year due to its rapid development in the Indian market. Surpassing Samsung, it became the largest phone maker in India.

The report further pointed out that Huawei, Xiaomi, together with other two Chinese brands, VIVO and OPPO, were still the fastest-growing brands.