China exported 51 million mobile phones worth $4.9 billion in the first five months of 2004, according to the Chinese government. The dollar figure was up 100 percent from the same period last year. Since China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, several Taiwanese, Japanese and U.S. manufacturers have increased their manufacturing presence in China. In the same five-month period, China imported 5.2 million mobile phones worth about $600 million.
The amount of exports is expected to increase later this year due to recently enacted legal changes in Taiwan that will let chip manufacturers from that island increase their investment in China.
Wang Dan of ZDNet China reported from Beijing.