How Huawei landed at the centre of global tech tussle

China’s biggest tech firm, Huawei Technologies, has risen to global prominence as a leader in 5G, the much ballyhooed, next-generation wireless technology. It has also become a major target for the US, which has been trying to convince its allies to ban Huawei equipment from their national networks on spying concerns.

In May 2022, Canada became the latest country to sign on to the American effort. Underlying the wrangling is the question of which country will take the lead in the nascent, "everything-connected" era, and who gets left behind.

WHY DOES THE US HAVE AN ISSUE WITH HUAWEI? 

US government officials say Huawei is dangerous in part because it could use its growing share of the telecom equipment market to spy for the Chinese government.

Already in 2012, a report by the US House Intelligence Committee tagged Huawei and ZTE as potential security threats; the Federal Communications Commission in 2020 designated the companies as such and ordered US carriers to remove equipment made by them from their networks.

Concerns about Huawei drove the 2018 decision by then-President Donald Trump to block a hostile takeover bid from Broadcom, based at the time in Singapore, for the US chipmaker Communal. The deal could have curtailed American investments in chip and wireless technologies and handed global leadership to Huawei.

Such concerns have grown as carriers spend billions of dollars on new 5G networks, which will collect data and enable services on an unparalleled scale.

HOW IMPORTANT IS HUAWEI?

In just more than three decades it has grown from an electronics reseller into one of the world’s biggest private companies, with leading positions in telecommunications gear, smartphones, cloud computing and cybersecurity, and substantial operations in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Huawei generated 850 billion yuan (US$130 billion) in sales in 2019 - more than Boeing. It has plowed billions of dollars into 5G and broke into the top 10 recipients of US patents last year. It has helped build 5G networks in more than 10 countries and was set to do the same in another 20 in 2020.

US sanctions spooked some Huawei customers and suppliers globally, while Chinese consumers and carriers rallied to its side.

WHY IS ITS EQUIPMENT A SECURITY ISSUE?

The US government — like the Chinese and others — is wary of employing foreign technology in vital communications for fear that manufacturers could install hidden “backdoors” for spies to access sensitive data, or that the companies themselves would hand it over to their home governments.

The 5G networks are of particular concern because they will go beyond making smartphone downloads faster. They also will enable new technologies like self-driving cars and the Internet of Things.

UK-based carrier Vodafone Group was said to have found and fixed backdoors on Huawei equipment used in its Italian business in 2011 and 2012. While it is hard to know if those vulnerabilities were nefarious or accidental, the revelation dealt a blow to Huawei’s reputation.

WHO'S USING HUAWEI AND WHO'S NOT?

Japan and Australia joined the US boycott early. The UK prohibited its telecom operators from buying Huawei equipment starting in 2021, and equipment already installed must be removed by 2027.

Sweden banned Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network in October 2020. Countries such as India and Vietnam are considered unlikely to use Huawei. But the company has won 5G customers in Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including the Philippines and Thailand.

Its equipment tends to be less expensive than alternatives from Nokia and Ericsson and is often higher quality.

In Malaysia, the prime minister has said his country will use "as much as possible". South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also defended using Huawei equipment.

"We cannot afford to have our economy to be held back because of this fight," he said in 2019.

WHAT'S GOING ON ELSEWHERE? 

Norway decided against a ban, leaving the choice to individual companies; so far two have gone with Ericsson.

Huawei lost two big contracts in Singapore in 2020 but still has a foothold in the market. Brazil has said it is not excluding anyone from bidding.

WHAT ELSE HAS THE US DONE?

The US has moved to curb Huawei’s ability to sell equipment in the country and, more significantly, to buy parts from American suppliers by adding Huawei to a Commerce Department blacklist in 2019.

Accusing the company of seeking to “undermine” those export controls, the department imposed further restrictions on chipmakers using American gear in designing or producing semiconductors, meaning suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will have to cut off Huawei unless they get a waiver from Washington - or potentially face penalties.

Under President Joe Biden, conditions on some export licenses were tightened on such components as semiconductors, antennas and batteries, barring their use for Huawei 5G devices. Other, earlier measures included the blacklisting of 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries.

The FCC said in December it would establish a list of proscribed equipment domestically and set up a program to reimburse US carriers for implementing the “rip and replace” order.

WHAT'S GOING ON IN CANADA?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to join the US in barring Huawei equipment from 5G networks. His government had delayed the decision for more than three years, as relations between the two countries deteriorated, and a ban would almost certainly stoke tensions.

Relations between the two nations soured dramatically after Canada’s arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request in December 2018. China imprisoned two Canadians within days of Meng’s arrest.

The high-stakes standoff was resolved in 2021 after the US struck a deferred-prosecution deal with Meng, allowing her to return to China and for the two Canadians to come home.

WHO ELSE HAS ACCUSED HUAWEI?

In 2003, Cisco Systems sued Huawei for allegedly infringing on its patents and illegally copying source code used in routers and switches. Huawei removed the contested code, manuals and command-line interfaces and the case was dropped.

Motorola sued in 2010 for allegedly conspiring with former employees to steal trade secrets. That lawsuit was later settled.

In 2017 a jury found Huawei liable for stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile US, and on Jan 28, 2019, the Justice Department indicted Huawei for theft of trade secrets related to that case.

The same month Poland, a staunch US ally, arrested a Huawei employee on suspicion of spying for the Chinese government. Huawei fired the employee and denied any involvement in his alleged actions.

WHAT DOES HUAWEI SAY?

That US restrictions are not about cybersecurity but are really designed to safeguard American dominance of global tech. It has repeatedly denied that it helps Beijing spy on other governments or companies. But bracing for continued pressure, it outlined plans to shake up its management ranks as revenue growth slowed.

The company, which says it’s owned by Ren as well as its employees through a union, has in recent years begun releasing financial results, spent more on marketing and engaged with foreign media in an effort to boost transparency.

Ren has become more outspoken as he fights to save his company. While he said he was proud of his military career and Communist Party membership, he rejected suggestions he was doing Beijing’s bidding or that Huawei handed over customer information.

ARE OTHER CHINESE COMPANIES FEELING THE HEAT?

Yes. In late 2020 the Pentagon added four more firms, including China National Offshore Oil and Semiconductor Manufacturing International, to a list of those it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, exposing them to increased scrutiny and potential sanctions.

Other Chinese tech giants have been blacklisted for allegedly being implicated in human rights violations against minority Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang region. They included Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology, which by some accounts control as much as a third of the global market for video surveillance; SenseTime Group, the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup; and fellow AI giant Megvii Technology.

ZTE almost collapsed after the US Commerce Department banned it for three months in 2018 from buying American technology.

In August, Trump issued a pair of executive orders banning US residents from doing business with the popular Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat on national security grounds.