The ever prevalent use of mobile phones in China has changed people's way of living and working, China's telecom giant chief said on Tuesday.

With a mobile phone, people can organize office work, read the news, watch TV programs, check e-mail boxes and take care of their daily lives, General Director and President of China United Network Communications Ltd (China Unicom) Lu Yimin told Xinhua on Tuesday at the Fifth Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

China Unicom invested 1 billion yuan (US$147 million) in the country's mobile sector last year. China's telecommunications sector currently represents 7 percent of its gross domestic product, he said.

In 2009, the number of 2G mobile users increased by over 10 million, while the number of 3G users rose by 3 million, providing mobile telecom operators with reasons to be optimistic in the future.

However, Lu saw equipment investment and cost pressures as serious challenges. He also predicted the applications sector to be vital in the next 10 years.

Around 1,300 mobile phone companies from over 100 countries attended the meeting organized by the GSMA with "Vision in Action" as motto.

This particular motto tries to convey a message that the dreams of today will become the realities of tomorrow, said the event's Press Officer Paul Nolan.

"The initiatives, technologies and products that are being exhibited now are the new generation in the World and we hope that in the future they will be in the hands of all people and families," Nolan added.

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2010)