Sales of mobile phones in China increased 40 percent in 2006 120 million units, according to Xie Linzhen, deputy chief of the China Mobile Communications Association. He forecast sales this year to grow 25 percent to around 150 million units, reports state news agency Xinhua. The country produced a total of 450 million phones in 2006, of which 350 million were exported. According to the Ministry of Information, Nokia and Motorala dominate the Chinese market, while local mobiole makers sold about 50 million units last year, both at home and abroad. Last year the number of mobile users in China reached 461 million, up 68 million from 2005. Xie estimates that Chinese mobile users buy a new phone every 21 months.
