BEIJING (Reuters) -Huawei's China smartphone sales grew strongly in the third quarter as shoppers snapped up its Mate 60 series phones, two research firms said on Thursday, with one noting this was helping narrow the market share gap with top brands such as Apple. Counterpoint said Huawei recorded a 37% year-on-year increase in smartphone sales in the quarter thanks to the Mate 60 launch, while Canalys noted its market share continued growing and it was narrowing the gap with leading rivals.