Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei is to open a research and development base in Bristol, it revealed this week.

The centre, part of its UK Innovation Programme, will initially recruit 30 high-calibre R&D employees and have a primary focus on researching ICT chips, software, and the analog chip technology of the future.

Huawei already has 15 offices and more than 900 employees in the UK, and operates another R&D centre dedicated to optoelectronics in Ipswich. Combined with the new Bristol site, the number of UK-based R&D jobs will rise to 140 – reaching 300 by 2017.

The move is thought to be the biggest single Chinese investment in Bristol and is a significant boost to its ability to attract overseas investment – especially in next-generation tech industry projects.

Huawei’s decision was welcomed by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who has visited the Chinese giant’s headquarters in the past and met its founder Ren Zhengfei.

He said: “When I went to China, I visited the Huawei headquarters and met with the CEO and founder to highlight the opportunities in Britain.

“I am delighted that today Huawei are announcing a new R&D centre in the UK. The decision of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker to innovate in Britain is testament to the outstanding quality of our highly-skilled workforce and further evidence that our long term economic plan is working.”

Huawei acting CEO Guo Ping described the UK as “forward-thinking”.

He said: “This creativity is a major asset to our R&D efforts and gives us the perfect platform to continue pioneering the new, ground-breaking technologies that are building the future. We are committed to working with our customers and partners in the UK to leverage our global presence and customer-centric approach to innovation, bringing value to the UK ICT industry and helping its products and technologies go global.”

Bristol and the wider West of England is home to the world’s second-largest silicon chip design cluster, behind only California’s Silicon Valley.

Confirmation of Huawei’s decision to open a base in Bristol comes day after a report from international accountants EY showing the city is one of the UK’s most successful for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Bristol is ranked sixth in a list of leading FDI cities, ahead of bigger rival Birmingham and academic powerhouse Cambridge. Bristol attracted 12 investments last year against 11 in Birmingham. It was only just behind Manchester, which recorded 15 projects.

Huawei, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, is China’s largest telecoms equipment manufacturer. It employs around 7,700 employees in Europe – about 5% of its global workforce of 150,000. It opened its first operations in the UK in 2001.