"Innovation represents the key value for Chinese technology companies who are eager to compete in the global market," said Zeng Xuezhong, executive vice president of ZTE Corporation and CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices.

Zeng sat down with chinadaily.com.cn during the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC), and shared his views on ZTE's innovation gene and strategies for going global.

All-in-one projector Spro Plus, smartphones Blade V7 and V7 Lite, launched on Feb 21 in Barcelona, are the new examples for the company to showcase its innovation culture on the MWC.

"ZTE has two core competitiveness in both domestic and overseas market -- innovation and localization," said Zeng.

He claimed that the innovation behind ZTE's products has received positive feedback and respect and built brand-awareness from the mainstream foreign industrial media.

According to Zeng, with localization strategies, such as the sponsorship agreement made with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US, ZTE's products are able to reach the local community and win the loyalty of customers.

"In the eyes of our foreign consumers, ZTE stands for innovation rather than copycats or duplicates," said Zeng.

ZTE has been embarking on a brand-awareness campaign through the partnership with the NBA as an official sponsor of five NBA teams: the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls.

The company also announced the signing of a sponsorship deal with Sevilla, a Spanish soccer club on Feb 21 in Barcelona, Spain, serving as the club's "official technology partner".

Meanwhile, further product promotion initiatives, such as the Z-Community platform, will be introduced to new countries around the world. Announced at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in January this year, this program establishes a forum for user feedback in order to improve existing devices or for future product development.