In response to the rising popularity of LTE-Advanced networks with carrier aggregation (CA) in China, US chipmaker Qualcomm said it has 40 chip designs in the pipeline for premium tier and high-volume mobile devices.

The company’s X10, X8 and X5 LTE modems support LTE-A CA across its full range of Snapdragon processors.

Devices from Coolpad, Hisense, LeTV, Motorola, OPPO, Smartisan Technology, Tianyu, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE will soon support LTE-A CA, Qualcomm said.

CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber posted a tweet today noting that Qualcomm’s focus on the premium tier was one way for handset makers in China to “respond to the Apple and Samsung duopoly problem”.

Fast-rising Xiaomi said in a statement it will be among the first to support CA with the Snapdragon 810 processor with the X10.

Rong Xiuli, CEO of Tianyu, said it is working with Qualcomm to feature support for carrier aggregation in its devices to allow users to take advantage of fast LTE connectivity.

Qualcomm recently set up a unit in Shenzhen to give domestic handset vendors support in marketing their devices abroad. It is looking to build ties with China’s smartphone vendors, which increasingly are targeting overseas markets, but have faced challenges as they attempt to expand outside of China.