TORONTO (AP) — After eight years of trying, Research in Motion has received clearance to sell its popular BlackBerry device in China.The Canadian based company says it is finalising the delivery of its products to China.

"We're excited to move forward to deliver BlackBerry to corporate customers in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where there's strong interest in the BlackBerry solution," RIM Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said on a conference call with analysts last week.

A manager in RIM's Beijing office was quoted in the Globe and Mail newspaper yesterday as saying RIM expects to start selling its 8700g handset in Chinese shops at the end of next month and has already received 5,000 advance orders.

RIM's move into China comes as it competes in the United States with Apple Inc.'s heavily hyped iPhone, which began selling in the US on Friday.

Balsillie said the iPhone has raised awareness for many types of smart phones that offer internet access and other services. He added the iPhone has only been launched in one country and that RIM is in more than 100 countries.

The Ontario-based company said BlackBerry subscriber accounts grew by about 1.2 million during the first quarter, for a total of 9.2 million.

RIM stock has surged 26 percent since the company announced first-quarter earnings grew 73 percent thanks to increased sales and subscriber additions — many of them international subscribers.

The company's stock closed at $207.94 on NASDAQ on Tuesday before trading stopped for the July 4 holiday.