Samsung Electronics has become the top smartphone maker in China for the first time since it entered the market in 2009.

The tech giant overtook Nokia to account for a 17.7 percent market share last year, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics, up 5.3 percentage points from 2011.

Samsung's sales volume there tripled from 10.9 million units to 30.6 million units over the same period.

With heated competition among smartphone makers, Nokia fell from first place in 2011 to seventh last year, while China's Lenovo saw its market share soar from 4 percent to 13.2 percent to reach second place. Apple remained steady at No. 3 for the second straight year.