Breaking new ground

As they improve quality and develop innovational technology, a growing number of Chinese companies like China Road and Bridge Corp. are shrugging off stereotypes and gaining global prominence.

Transsion is a Shenzhen-based phone maker almost unheard of in China, but its cellphones have millions of users in Africa. In 2016, Transsion took up about 40 percent of Africa’s phone market share, way ahead of bigger competitors such as Samsung, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, a global industry analysis firm.

“We are dedicated to finding out what exactly local people like,” said Arif Chowdhury, Vice President of Transsion Holdings. “We improved camera function and calibrated the exposure to suit darker skin tones and make it a better fit for African users.”

Transsion designed phones with multiple phone card slots, enabled local languages, and improved music function and battery life to better answer the needs of locals.

Transsion’s strong market position is the result of its branding localization efforts, said Wang Yanhui, Secretary General of Mobile China Alliance.

With the aim of becoming an innovation powerhouse by 2020, China made innovation the country’s top strategic priorities in its Five-year Plan for Scientific and Technological Progress (2016-20) issued by the State Council last August.

Besides, China’s surging outbound direct investment and new cooperation framework of the Belt and Road Initiative create a favorable international economic environment