VIDEO INTERVIEW: During Q2, according to Strategy Analytics, ZTE moved up to fourth position in the smartphone vendor ranks for the first time in its history. Lu Qian Hao, head of handset marketing at the Chinese supplier, believes ZTE can occupy third spot within 36 months.

“We will double our costs this year and the next to increase our branding, especially in China, Europe, America and Japan,” he told Mobile World Live in a recent interview. “We will introduce more and more flagship smartphones. If you can show your innovation through flagship smartphones, the customer will know who ZTE is.”

ZTE uses Android and is an early supporter of Firefox, the new mobile operating system from Mozilla targeting more price-sensitive markets.

“Which OS is adopted by ZTE is all dependent on the market’s demands,” says Lu Qian Hao, hinting perhaps that the Chinese firm is open to launching devices using other operating systems in the future.

See the whole interview to find out why Lu Qian Hao believes ZTE is well placed to compete with rival vendors in what he describes as “smartphone wars”.