ZTE vaults into top 10

The Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp last year applied for 1,184 patents with the European Patent Office to become the first Chinese company to rank among the top 10. Huawei, another Shenzhen high-tech company, is 17th on the list. ZTE has applied for a total of 46,000 patents around the world, more than 11,000 of which have been granted. It has invested 30 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in R&D over the last four years.