Tianjin, China makes 10% of world's mobiles

The Binhai New Area in northern China's Tianjin, which will be the country's third economic engine, now manufactures one out of every 10 mobile phone produced in the world.

The pilot reform base, about 120 kilometres to the south east of Beijing, produced over 100 million mobile phones in 2006, up 45% over the previous year, and accounting for a quarter of the China's total and a tenth of the world's total, according to the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

The area's electronics and communications industry grew rapidly last year with industrial output up 23% in value terms year-on-year to $23 billion, Pi Qiansheng, director of the Administrative Committee of the Binhai New Area, said.

China has listed the Binhai New Area in its development plan for the 2006-2010 period, aiming at making it the country's third economic engine along with southern Shenzhen and Shanghai's Pudong area on the east coast.