CCIEE Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang Met with Nokia Executive Vice President Mr. Barry French

On May 7, upon invitation, CCIEE Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Zhang Xiaoqiang met with Mr. Barry French, Executive Vice President of Nokia. Both parties conferred upon matters of mutual concern about the development of telecommunications industry. Also present at the meeting were, among others, Mr. Wang Jun, Deputy Director of CCIEE Information Department; Mr. Wang Jianya, President for Nokia Greater China; and Mr. Ma Tao, Vice President for Nokia Greater China.

Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang briefed on the development of China’s telecom industry. According to him, the number of China’s mobile phone subscribers has outrun that of fixed-line subscribers since as early as 2003. Significant improvements have been witnessed in the size of telecom service portfolios and network – a powerhouse for the upsizing of the telecom technology and service market. While 3G technology has been well developed and applied extensively in China, 4G subscribers have mushroomed since this February when 4G mobile network licenses were officially issued to China Mobile and China Unicom. It is believed that China’s telecom technology and service market will maintain this soaring momentum in the coming years. Mr. Zhang also highlighted the constant importance attached by the Chinese government to the protection of intellectual property rights, a fact which accounted for the major measures taken in this area since last year.

Mr. Barry French pointed out the huge opportunities that lie ahead of Nokia on China’s telecom technology and service market, and said Nokia will further strengthen its presence in China. He also gave high opinions about the great efforts of Chinese government in protecting the intellectual property rights and offered to keep close communication with CCIEE in this aspect.

The two parties also exchanged minds on the innovation and future prospects of telecommunication technologies.