China’s Mobile Phone Shipments Plunge 6.2% In 2019 

The Chinese economy continues to slow with new data via the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) that shows the country’s mobile phone market suffered its worst month in nearly one year as phone shipments plunged 14.7% in December, contributing to a full-year 6.2% decline, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Full-year phone shipments totaled 389 million, with at least 90% were from domestic brands including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, according to CAICT.

Shipments of domestic brands dropped 17.4% Y/Y in December. Apple bucked the trend in China last month, recorded an 18% increase.

Apple shipped 3.2 million iPhones in China in December, CAICT said, adding that it was up from 2.7 million a year earlier.

Chinese sales of iPhones peaked in 2015 due to longer upgrade cycles and increased domestic competition.

The trade war has also sparked patriotism in the country, and more citizens are opting for domestic phone brands than foreign ones.

In 3Q19, Huawei controlled 42% of all new phone shipments in China, according to research firm IDC.

Despite a continued slowdown in the overall phone industry, 5G phone shipments continued to increase, accounting for 17% of all phones shipped last month.

Sluggish phone shipments in China is another warning that the global economy is stuck in a low growth period.