Table of Contents
U.S CHINA TUSSLE
HUAWEI
- A Chinese multinational technology company that provides telecommunications equipment and sells consumer electronics including smartphones, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
- Several other western governments have raised concerns about Huawei in relation to the firm’s alleged ties with the Chinese government, with allegations that Huawei devices are being used as spy tools by Beijing.
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THE DOWNFALL OF HUAWEI
- Jan. 3, 2019: A report suggests that President Trump may use an executive order to ban Huawei and ZTE purchases.
- Jan. 4, 2019: Senators introduce a bipartisan bill to address concerns about Chinese tech companies.
- Jan. 8, 2019: Huawei fights to stay in the US with laptops and tablets at CES.
- Jan. 11, 2019: In Poland, a Huawei employee gets arrested over alleged spying.Three days later, Huawei sacks that employee.
SO WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
- Recently the US put Huawei on a list of companies that American firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence.
- The restrictions mark an escalation in US efforts to block Huawei, which it says poses a security risk.
NOTES
- The firm’s founder Ren Zhengfei has downplayed the impact of US curbs on Huawei, but early signs suggest the fallout could be significant.
- Google has barred Huawei from some updates to the Android operating system, meaning new designs of Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps.
- Japan’s Softbank and KDDI have both said they will not sell Huawei’s new handsets for now.
- UK-based chip designer ARM told staff it must suspend business with Huawei
THE EXTENT OF THE BAN
- As of May 2, 2019, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. have decided to ban and phase out the company’s products within their mobile networks
- Several European countries including Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands are still on the fence about possible bans. An outright ban might prove especially difficult in Europe, where Huawei is now supplying a third of telecommunication systems, up from next to none a decade ago.