China's cell phone exports in the first 2 months amounted to RMB 149.59 billion ($22.9 billion), up 49.2% year-on-year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on March 7.
The data showed that China's 2020 cell phone exports stood at $125.45 billion, up 0.9% year-on-year; the annual cell phone exports were 966 million units, down 2.8%, the fifth consecutive year of decline.
Except for the third quarter, when China's cell phone exports grew 0.36 percent, the other three quarters saw exports fell 4.5 percent, 9.6 percent, and 1.7 percent year-on-year, respectively.
Separately, according to the United States International Trade Commission, 73.3 percent of US cell phone imports from January to November 2020 came from China.
China's exports of cell phones to India totaled $1.52 billion in 2020, up 99.1% year-on-year, according to China’s Customs data.
Imports of cell phones from India shrank 97% from 200 million units in 2014 to 6.69 million units in 2019, and imports from China fell to 2.52 million units from 179 million units, driven by capacity localization.
In 2020, Xiaomi shipped 40.7 million units in India, ranking first with a 28% market share; Samsung ranked second with 28.6 million units shipped.
Other Chinese brands Vivo, Realme, and OPPO were ranked third to fifth, all achieving year-on-year growth. Together, Chinese brands account for 72% of India's market share.
Chinese manufacturers will get more opportunities to grow during the shift from 4G to 5G, He Yi from China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic products said.
China smartphone shipments fall 11% in 2020, Canalys data show