China is expected to be the world’s biggest purchaser of 5G smartphones in 2020 as handset makers race to roll out cheaper 5G phones in the country.

More than 160 million 5G smartphones will be sold in China this year, accounting for about 67.7% of the global total, according to a report by research firm IDC.

IDC largely attributed the expected sales to the aggressive pricing strategies smartphone makers are adopting in China, where the average selling price of a 5G phone was only $464 in the second quarter, compared with $837 globally during the same period.

IDC also predicted that sales of higher-priced 5G smartphones will continue to grow in China with the launch of Apple’s 5G-enabled iPhone 12 series priced between $699 and $1,099.

In the first half of 2020, some 23.5 million smartphones of all types priced $600 and above were sold in China, with Huawei leading the market with a share of 44.1%. Apple was China’s second-largest smartphone vendor for that price range during the period with a market share of 44%, according to IDC.

As of the beginning of September, China had established 480,000 5G base stations, with the number of 5G terminal devices surpassing 100 million, according to IDC.