China's Smartphone Market Ships 21m Units, Returns To Pre-Pandemic Levels Despite Global Chip Pinch

The developments show a market rebound amid the ongoing US trade war on China and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, triggering chip shortages across the world.

Chinese smartphone makers have recorded skyrocketing mobile shipments in February, three times the number of shipments the year before, data from the China Academy of Information and Information Communications (CAICT) think tank has found.

Smartphone shipments in China spiked to 21.3m units in February, or 236 percent year on year, returning to pre-pandemic levels, CAICT revealed as reported by Reuters.

The report revealed China shipped 14.9m and 6.3m units in 2019 and 2020 the same period, respectively.

Problems cited in 2020 figures include lower consumer demand and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but China's economy rebounded the fourth quarter last year.

Semiconductor shortages in the global market have also sparked major concerns for all manufacturers, caused by former US president Donald Trump's trade restrictions on Chinese chipmakers, factory shutdowns and others.

The news comes as Chinese lawmakers heavily invest in the nation's domestic technologies in a bid to reduce reliance on US tech companies, namely after the former Trump administration began blacklisting firms such as Huawei Technologies, ZTE, chipmaker SMIC from May 2019.

The China Development Bank (CDB) pledged 400bn yuan ($62bn) in loans to help mainland tech firms boost supply chains security as well as technological innovation, adding an Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund had raised 200bn yuan ($30.8bn USD) has also entered investment talks. 

Baidu Inc also entered talks in February with venture capital firms GGV and IDG Capital to raise money for its artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking wing, namely to strengthen the smart vehicle market amid the shortage.