South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to focus on beefing up price competitiveness of its handsets next year, apparently as its foothold in the global market has been challenged by new players from China.

In an investors' relations meeting held in the United States, Samsung said it plans to work to bolster its price competitiveness and also reduce its number of smartphone models.

Samsung Electronics took up 24.7 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, plunging from 35 percent a year earlier, data compiled by Strategy Analytics showed earlier.

In contrast, China-based Xiaomi took up 5.6 percent in the July-September period, nearly doubling from 2.1 percent posted in 2013.

The rise of Chinese players has been cited as the major drag on Samsung's earnings. The operating profit in the mobile sector crashed to 1.75 trillion won (US$1.59 billion) in the third quarter from 6.7 trillion won a year ago.

The world's No. 1 maker of smartphones also said it is "mysterious" how Xiamoi can generate profits, adding it doubts if the Chinese firm's strategy will work in markets outside China. (Yonhap)