A report released by market research firm Gartner says Chinese telecom giant Huawei is the third largest chip buyer in the world.

The company spent more than 21 billion U.S. dollars on semiconductors last year, up 45 percent from a year earlier.

It moves Huawei ahead of Dell on the world's chip-buyer list.

Apple and Samsung remained the top two chip buyers last year, accounting for more than 17 percent of the global market.

Other Chinese tech compaines including Lenovo, Xiaomi and BBK Electronics were also among the top 10 buyers of chips last year.