ABSTRACT
Since the turn of the new century, the mobile phone has become arguably the most notable ‘local’ communication medium in China. The mobile phone’s industrial production systems, circulated content and social and cultural consequences have all materialized at various levels locally, regionally and nationally. By the end of 2009, China had 747 million mobile phone subscribers; the national mobile phone penetration rate was over 50 per cent; and mobile communication accounted for roughly 60 per cent of the total revenue of the telecommunications industry (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology 2010). Meanwhile, China has also emerged as the world’s largest mobile phone producer. According to China’s First Mobile Phone Industry Research Results Press Conference, held in Shenzhen in April 2008, the country manufactured 48 per cent of the mobile phones used worldwide in 2007 (Sina Technology 2008). The same year the total number of mobile phones produced in China was 548.6 million (China Economy Publications 2008: 167).
