Marbridge Daily reports that Samsung has partnered with Chinese internet giant Sina which will see the local company taking in responsibility for Samsung Apps in China, through its 1000CHI Software Technology affiliate. According to the report, the move forms part of Samsung’s strategy to encourage development of localised mobile apps, and Sina’s products will also be pre-installed on devices from the vendor for the country. Neither of the parties involved has confirmed the deal.

Samsung has already seen some success with Samsung Apps, passing the 100 million cumulative download mark in March 2011. The store is already available in 120 countries worldwide, although more than 40 percent of its downloads are generated in France, Germany and Spain. It has a catalogue of more than 15,000 applications. Sina is the company behind the popular Weibo mobile social networking service, which already has more than 50 million users.