Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corporation has announced plans to open a research and development lab in the test and innovation center operated by Vodafone's German subsidiary in Dusseldorf to enhance its R&D and test capacity in Europe.

The two parties signed an agreement on the cooperation during the CeBIT 2010, held in Hanover, Germany.

The new lab is reportedly ZTE's third R&D center in Europe, following those in Poitiers, France, and Kista, Sweden.

Michael Stuckmann, chief operation officer for ZTE Germany, told media that this R&D lab in Dusseldorf will become a technology platform where ZTE serves major telecom operators in Europe. It will focus on the research of broadband technologies that target the entire European market and will support the deployment of new services.

In 2005, ZTE Germany established its headquarters in Dusseldorf, an important European hub for the telecom industry, and the company is adjacent to its important client, Vodafone.