Beijing, Nov 20 (IANS): Contract electronics maker Foxconn plans to build a new processing base in northwest China's Gansu province, indicating the tech giant's further expansion on the inland market.

Foxconn Technology Group, the main supplier to tech giant Apple, inked a cooperation deal with Gansu Radio and Television Network Co. Ltd. (GRTN) on Friday, agreeing to establish a joint electronics processing base in the provincial capital Lanzhou, Xinhua reported.

Taiwan-based Foxconn has expanded rapidly since it was launched in 1988, with more than 30 industrial gardens currently in the country's south, north, southwest, northeast and central areas.

The company wants to expand its business to central and western Asian markets amid China's Belt and Road Initiative. It signed an agreement with the Gansu government in September that pledged to build long-term cooperation.

The Lanzhou processing base will focus on the combination of new information technology such as cloud computing and big data, with industries such as manufacturing and productive service, according to the deal.

It will "help with Gansu's entrepreneurship and innovation, and boost local economic growth."

Qiu Chuangyi, general manager of a Foxconn subsidiary, said the deal with Gansu is the beginning of a market strategy targeting central and western Asia.

"Together we will seize the opportunities provided by government projects such as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Internet to jointly create new edges in the information and high-tech industries," said GRTN general manager Wang Yongsheng at Friday's signing ceremony.