Nokia expects China to be key growth driver for mobile phones and network equipment Nokia is expanding a research and development (R&D) center in Sichuan, China, to develop a wider range of products, including WAP network components, the company announced Tuesday.Nokia opened its Chengdu R&D center in Sichuan last year to develop IP (Internet Protocol) multimedia subsystem applications. It will now expand the work there to include other mobile network components such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) gateways, platform milddleware, intelligent packet core subsystems and multimedia applications, Nokia said.Nokia expects the expansion to contribute to its sales globally, but it will also allow it to respond quicker to the needs of customers in China, Nokia said. China could be a key growth driver for makers of mobile phones and network equipment. It has 400 million mobile users and its 3G (third generation) networks are not yet switched on, providing a future avenue for further growth.A recent study done by Norson (Hong Kong) Information Technology projected that after three years of 3G availability, more than 84 million Chinese will use 3G services. Mobile vendors like Nokia increasingly say that they believe the bulk of their future growth will come from emerging markets like China and India.Nokia has two other research facilities in China and recently doubled the floor space of a mobile phone factory there. It also has a joint venture company to build products based on the Chinese flavor of 3G and a 3G development center in Taipei. Nokia isn’t alone among technology companies opening or expanding operations in China. In March, Motorola said it had opened a new research and development center in Hangzhou, its seventeenth research center in the country. Dell Inc. recently expanded its product development center in Shanghai. Technology IndustrySoftware DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business