Nokia Siemens has opened a second research centre in China, focusing on technologies including 3G, WiMax and Internet HSPA.

The lab is located in a technology zone near to the eastern city of Hangzhou, about 200km from Shanghai.

David Ho, regional president of Nokia Siemens, told the government-controlled Xinhua news agency that more than 600 staff will work at the new facility.

The company is also expanding its existing Chinese R&D facility near Chengdu in western China which develops mobile browsing, messaging and rich communication applications. The company has smaller labs in four other Chinese cities.

Nokia Siemens signed GSM network expansion contracts valued at $650m in China in the first half of 2007, according to company data.

"The number of subscribers increases very fast in China, and mobile voice and data bandwidth need to be expanded," said Zhang Zhiqiang, head of Greater China Region at Nokia Siemens, earlier this year.

Nokia Siemens' net revenues in China for the third quarter increased 26 per cent quarter-on-quarter to reach $548m, Xinhua reported, based on company sources.

The company also has major R&D centres in Finland, Germany, India and the US.