The GSM Association, which represents more than 600 mobile phone operators and 130 equipment manufacturers worldwide, last night presented a prestigious award to the head of China Mobile at the 3GSM world congress, taking place in Cannes.

Presentation of the 2004 chairman's award to Zhang Li Gui, the president of the Chinese state-owned operator, is being seen by some at the event as a highly political move.

Although the award shows that the GSM Association has accepted its need to strengthen ties with the largest mobile market in the world, one executive at the ceremony described it as "a pure piece of political power playing".

"This award is more about the contracts that some of the association's members are hoping to get out of China," the executive, who did not wish to be named, said.

Presenting the award, Craig Ehrlich, the GSM Association's chairman, said: "President Zhang Li Gui and China Mobile are most deserving of this year's award for their leadership in the global mobile communications industry and for an astonishing contribution to the achievement of 1bn global GSM customers."

Speaking after the presentation, the association's chief executive, Rob Conway, denied that there had been any political motives behind the award.

Mr Conway said that China Mobile, in which Vodafone has a stake of just under 10%, has been an association member for a decade.

However, he admitted that the Chinese market was crucial to the continuing growth in mobile communications.

This week, the association has been celebrating the achievement of 1bn customers using GSM technology worldwide, and all eyes are now on where future growth can be found. "That next billion are going to come from countries like India and China," Mr Conway pointed out.

Earlier in the day, he had updated delegates about the association's progress over the past year, setting out the challenges for this year in a keynote speech.

He highlighted growing concerns within the industry that mobile phone handsets and networks could fall foul of the hackers and virus writers plaguing the internet.

Ironically, it today emerged that a virus infected the congress's main computer network, causing crashes and confusion. It appeared that a worm had been introduced into the network when a delegate connected his laptop to the system to access his email.