Ericsson to establish R&D center in SW China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-04-29 09:26

Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications equipment giant, announced its plan Wednesday to set up a research and development center in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province.

The center, located at the hi-tech industrial development zone in Chengdu, will initially develop parts for radio base station products for the mobile standards of GSM, CDMA and WCDMA for the global market.

It will also act as Ericsson's purchasing base in the province, said Carl Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, who is on a visit to Chengdu.

"China plays a key role in Ericsson's global business development in terms of market, supply and R&D," said Svanberg. "Chengdu, as a pivotal city in southwestern China, plays a key role in boosting the region's economy and industry development. This, along with the rich pool of talents we have found here, make Chengdu an ideal place to start this R&D center in southwestern China."

"Manufacturing of the developed products by this R&D center is expected to be done together with local cooperation partners in Sichuan and we plan to employ 25 engineers here," said Svanberg.

Ericsson has already established R&D facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao and Dalian. It now has four wholly-owned companies, 10 joint ventures and 26 representative offices across China, with its full-line production capacity located in Beijing, Nanjing and Chongqing.

By the end of 2000, Ericsson had recorded an accumulated investment of US$290 million in R&D and human resource development in China. The investment in R&D in China will hit US$500 million between 2001 and 2005.

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