Is China's Mobile Phone Market Hitting Bottom and Rebounding?... Export Improvement Last Month

September Mobile Phone Exports Reach Over 83.54 Million Units
Strong Sales of Huawei Mate60 Series

China's mobile phone market has hit bottom and expectations for a rebound are growing. Exports are also rapidly increasing, led by Huawei's latest smartphone released at the end of August.

According to import-export statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China on the 16th, the scale of China's mobile phone exports reached 83.545 million units in September, a 29.4% increase compared to the previous month (64.567 million units). Guangzhou Daily reported, "Following the recent launch of Huawei's Mate60 series, consumer interest in the mobile phone market has grown, leading to a surge in sales," adding, "This trend is boosting the mobile phone industry's economy, especially increasing sales of high-end mobile phones."

On the evening of the 6th, during China's National Day Golden Week holiday, visitors were examining the 'Mate60' series products at a Huawei store in Chaoyang District, Beijing. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

After the successful launch of the Mate60 series, Huawei anticipated supply shortages and revised its shipment volume upward. Huawei set its shipment target for next year at 60 to 70 million units, which is double the annual shipment volume of 2022. Guangzhou Daily stated, "Huawei has raised its overall mobile phone shipment target for this year, increasing its second-half goal by more than 20%."

Guo Mingchi, an analyst at Tianfeng International, recently posted on his social media, "The Chinese mobile phone market has passed the bottom and is entering a growth phase again," adding, "During the recent National Day holiday, mobile phone sales increased by about 15% year-on-year, and the fourth quarter is expected to show growth compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year." He also explained, "The price war among Android brands is over," and "Costs have decreased compared to the past few years, which will help improve profit growth for mobile phone brands."

Liu Yixuan, an analyst at market research firm Canalys, predicted that the mobile phone market will show a moderate recovery next year compared to this year, and that this year could be the so-called 'bottom' in terms of shipment pace.

Local media also assessed that the better-than-expected sales of Apple's iPhone 15 series, released last month, are helping the market recovery. Market research firm Counterpoint reported that from the week of August 7th onwards, Chinese Android phone sales have shown positive year-on-year growth for eight consecutive weeks from the demand side.