A man walks past an advertisement of Chinese mobile phone maker VIVO, in Mumbai on June 22. Photo:AFP

Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese mobile phones are gaining in popularity in the global market. According to the international e-commerce platform Aliexpress, Chinese mobile phone brands now have a 60 percent share of the global market.

"The sales volume of Chinese mobile phone brands rose significantly in 2020,” said Xu Qingyong, director of the mobile phone sector of Aliexpress. Xu told the Global Times that Chinese mobile phones have sold 2 million more units this year than in the whole of 2019. 

The sales volume was boosted during the “Black Friday” sale and Chinese “Double 11” shopping festival. On Liexpress, the sales volume during Black Friday was 24 times that of normal days. The year-on-year increases in sales volume for Chinese mobile phone brands Realme and One Plus rose by 500 percent and 200 percent on Black Friday, respectably.

Xu said that for Chinese brands, opening physical stores in foreign countries and sales through online platforms are the two main overseas sales solutions. “Due to the high cost of running overseas physical stores, it can only cover a limited area, so the advantages of online platforms are becoming more obvious,” said Xu.

"Because of the impact of COVID-19, mobile phones in the $100-$150 range are the most popular ones in overseas market,” said Zhang Yong, co-founder of Chinese mobile phone brand Umidigi. 

Zhang told the Global Times that Umidigi phones are being sold in North America, Europe, Japan, Africa and South East Asia.  

Zhang said that Chinese mobile phone brands costing around 1,000 yuan have supply chain and cost advantages in the global market. 

In Brazil, Motorola and Samsung have the most market share, but the prices of these international brands are three to four times those of the Chinese brands with the same configurations. 

"Mobile phones are usually tied to local communication operators, and users can’t switch to other operators,” said Xu. But Chinese brand mobile phones sold on Aliexpress can use sim cards from any countries, which means users can switch operators. “It is very convenient for those people who need to change their working locations frequently,” said Xu.

However, Zhang said the China-US trade war and COVID-19 pandemic have influenced the stability of upstream supply, but the situation is getting better. 

"Chinese mobile phone brands will dominate the global mobile phone market,” said Zhang. Zhang forecast that because of the efficient supply and industry chain, more and more Chinese mobile phone brands will take part in the global competition.