BEIJING, May 30 (Reuters) - Sales of foreign-branded

mobile phones in China, including Apple Inc's ( AAPL ) iPhones,

edged up in April, according to data released by a

government-affiliated research company on Friday.

Calculations based on the data from the China Academy of

Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that

April shipments of foreign-branded phones in China rose to 3.52

million units from 3.50 million a year earlier.

As the largest foreign mobile phone maker in China's

smartphone-dominated market, Apple's ( AAPL ) performance plays a

significant role in the overall data on foreign-branded phone

sales in the country.

The uptick in April comes after a sluggish first quarter in

which Apple's ( AAPL ) phone sales in China dropped 9%.

Apple ( AAPL ) has faced increased competition from domestic rivals

and has resorted to price cuts to stay competitive. Chinese

e-commerce platforms are offering discounts of up to 2,530 yuan

($351) on Apple's ( AAPL ) latest iPhone 16 models earlier this month.