Smartphone hub opens

A smartphone production base for ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, was officially put into operation on Monday in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province.

The base is the largest in west China and means that Xi'an High-tech Industrial Development Zone, where it is located, now houses a complete industrial chain for smartphones, said Dong Jun, mayor of Xi'an city.

Building began on the project on July 25, 2014 and took six months to complete. Hou Weigui, president of ZTE, said, "The annual production capacity of the base in the first phase will be 15 million smartphones with a value of about 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) and the second phase of construction of the base is under way, which will provide 30 billion yuan of annual output value with a production capacity of 45 million smartphones within three years."

Zhao Hongzhuan, director of the zone's administrative committee, said the zone plans to make itself one of the most important smartphone industrial centers over the next three to five years.

"We plan to occupy 30 percent of China's smartphone market with an annual production capacity of 200 million and annual output value of 20 billion yuan," Zhao said.

The smartphone industry could also provide 50,000 jobs, Zhao added.