BEIJING (Reuters) - Shipments of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple Inc's ( AAPL ) iPhone, in China rose 9.2% in February year-on-year, according to Reuters calculations based on data released on Monday from a government-affiliated research firm.

Calculations on the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that during the month, shipments of foreign-branded phones rose to 2.64 million units, up from 2.42 million units a year earlier. As the largest foreign phone maker in China's smartphone-dominated market, Apple's ( AAPL ) performance plays a significant role in the overall data on foreign-branded phone shipments in the country. Overall phone sales in China increased by 37.9% to 19.66 million units in February, CAICT data showed.