(Yicai Global) May 7 -- ZTE, China's biggest telecoms equipment maker after Huawei Technologies, has unveiled its first fifth-generation smartphone, hoping the flagship handset will put the company back into the mainstream of mobile phone brands.

The Axon 10 Pro can download data 10 times faster than a typical 4G phone and matches the technical requirements of most global telecoms carriers, Xu Feng, president of ZTE's devices business, said today at the unveiling ceremony in Fuzhou, the capital of China's southwestern Fujian province.

The phone is ready to ship and some did last month, said Xu, but the pace of shipments should be in line with operators' marketing efforts. 

About 400 million mobile phones will be sold in China this year of which 8 million, or 2 percent, would be 5G units, Xu predicted, adding that ZTE plans to capture a good share of that market.

The Shenzhen-based firm intends to start selling the Axon 10 Pro in Germany, Austria and Finland soon.

ZTE began pre-research for 5G technology seven years ago. It has applied for over 3,500 5G patents, of which more than 1,000 are related to device parts. The network joint adjustment of ZTE's 5G devices now leads the industry, and the company has cooperated with 40 global customers on 5G, Xu said. Its devices are being tested and used commercially by more than 10 customers, he added.