BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Shipments of foreign-branded

smartphones, including Apple Inc's ( AAPL ) iPhone, in China

rose 0.6% in December year-on-year, according to data released

on Friday by a government-affiliated research firm.

Calculations based on the data from the China Academy of

Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that

during the month, shipments of foreign-branded phones in China

rose to 3.74 million units, up from 3.72 million units a year

earlier.

As the largest foreign phone player in China's

smartphone-dominated market, Apple's ( AAPL ) performance is seen as

significant in the overall data on foreign-branded phone

shipments in the country.

Overall phone sales in China increased by 22.1% to 34.53

million units in December, CAICT data showed.