Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corporation on Thursday said it is looking at ramping up vendor network in India and increasing outsourcing of engineering requirements to local players.

Thus, telecom equipment ancillary manufacturers from India will get an opportunity to actively partner with ZTE and cater to project requirements in India as well as globally, ZTE Corporation said in a statement.

ZTE will now increasingly focus on addressing the telecom equipment requirements of the entire South Asia and Africa regions through the vendor network in India.

As part of its India localisation strategy, the company is also looking at partnering with local vendors for advanced enterprise and terminal products recently launched here.

"Not only will this initiative provide additional employment opportunities in India but will also serve to contribute towards increasing the trade relations between India and China," ZTE India CEO Cui Liangjun said.

The company started outsourcing some of its telecom ancillary equipment requirements locally in 2006. Today, it partners over 120 suppliers, providing employment to over 7,000 personnel indirectly.

While, the initiative was initially restricted to the requirements of the Indian market, it was later extended to provide material for ZTE projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Chad.

With the emphasis on further expanding the initiative, India is set to emerge as one of the key telecom ancillary equipments outsourcing base for ZTE.