Nokia and China Huaxin Post & Telecommunication Economy Development Centre agreed to integrate Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell (ASB) and Nokia’s China business into a new joint venture named Nokia Shanghai Bell (NSB), nearly two years after first announcing the plan.

The joint venture will become Nokia’s exclusive platform in China for the development of new technologies in areas including IP routing, optical, fixed and 5G, Nokia said in a statement.

ASB and Nokia’s China businesses have effectively been operating as one entity since January 2016, when an interim operational agreement was signed. Nokia and China Huaxin originally announced plans to form NSB in August 2015, but the Finland-based vendor announced in October 2016 the move had been held up by the complexity of its negotiations with the Chinese investment company.

The closing of the agreement, targeted for competition in July 2017, is subject to various customary administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions. Nokia will own 50 per cent plus one share of NSB, with China Huaxin owning the remainder.

Nokia said NSB’s R&D will be an integral part of its global R&D community, with around 16,000 personnel, including 10,000 researchers, working across six R&D sites in China.

Rajeev Suri, president and CEO of Nokia (pictured), said the agreement marks the next step of “our decades-long commitment to the country and underscoring China’s leading role in developing next-generation communication technologies”.