ZTE Corp, China's No.2 telecommunications equipment maker, said on Friday that it is suing larger Chinese rival Huawei Technologies in China for patent infringement over its fourth-generation telecoms technology.

The announcement of ZTE's legal action comes a day after Huawei filed lawsuits in Europe against it for patent and trademark infringement.

ZTE shares were down 1.24 percent on Friday, underperforming the main Hang Seng index's 0.5 percent drop.

(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Chris Lewis)

China Huawei Patent