PARIS-BASED technology and media company Thomson is looking for partners in China to localize production of some of its radio, film and TV equipment, company officials said yesterday.

Domestic production could be achieved within three years within the Chinese market and Asia countries, and officials are still assessing which product to bring to a local plant, said Claude Guillaume, vice president of Thomson Grass Valley.

"We are looking for the right partner and right product to make here," Guillaume told Shanghai Daily at the New Media International Radio, Film & TV Equipment Market exhibition, held in Shanghai yesterday.

He did not say whether the company would make its entry through a merger or by setting up a joint venture.

One of Thomson's main China focuses at present is network equipment for mobile devices such as phones and personal digital assistants, as the country is moving toward building its own media-rich third-generation mobile network.

Thomson has built test platforms in several cities. Among its other efforts here, Thomson formed a joint venture with a Chinese advertising company in January to expand in-store television, cinema advertising and out-of-home networks in China and across Asia.

Thomson's China sales have grown 10 percent to 12 percent annually over the past few years, according to Guillaume.