Beijing, Nov 15 : China's tablet computer shipments expanded 10.6 per cent year-on-year, to around 7.65 million units in the third quarter of 2021, marking a new quarterly high in nearly seven years, said an industry report. The country was the only one globally that saw double-digit growth in tablet shipments for the third quarter, the global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said. IDC has attributed the increase to steady consumer demands and the increasing number of market participants in the industry, reports Xinhua news agency. "China's shipments of tablets have seen steady growth, which has helped the country to become the second-largest tablet market worldwide," said the IDC, predicting that the market will continue its booming trend in the future. IDC's data also revealed that global tablet manufacturers shipped 42.41 million devices during the period, down 9.3 per cent year-on-year. However, after five quarters of growth driven by accelerated buying for remote work and learning, the global shipments of Chromebooks and tablets have recorded their first decline in the third quarter (Q3) since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Chromebook shipments declined 29.8 per cent (on-year) in the third quarter with volumes dropping to 6.5 million units while tablet shipments recorded a 9.4 per cent (on-year) decline falling to 42.3 million units. Despite the slowdown in demand, commercial use of tablets in verticals such as logistics, healthcare, and banking is expected to persist as the pandemic has changed the way many of these businesses conduct day-to-day operations. /IANS