Aiming to take advantage of the increasing demand for flat TVs in Japan, Sharp Corp is reportedly in talks with prospective partners in China, to undertake take cooperative efforts towards manufacture of LCD panels there.

According to Friday announcement by the Sharp Corp President Mikio Katayama, the company aims at selling over 1.2 million LCD televisions in China during the ongoing fiscal year, with a proposed expansion of its line-up, to include both high-end as well as low-end models. In the earlier fiscal, ending March 2009, the company had sold nearly 1.04 million units in China.

With its proposed China sales' move, Sony would be deviating from its standard strategy of making core products at home. About the move, Katayama told reporters: "It is true that we are considering building a plant to make LCDs in China."

However, Katayama stopped short of naming the potential business partner it is negotiating with, adding that the details regarding the timing of commencement of the projected plant's construction is yet to be fixed, as the talks are still to materialize.

Meanwhile, to cater to the recovering demand, Sharp - the world's fourth-largest LCD TV maker after Samsung, Sony, and LG - intends commencing production at its $3.9 billion LCD panel plant in Japan in October!