DECRYPTION – The withdrawal of Westerners offers an avenue for Chinese brands but Huawei is playing it safe, fearing that it will in turn be targeted, while many phone components remain under American license.
Correspondent in Asia
A dilemma as big as Russia, for Huawei. The Chinese telecoms giant has seen its phone sales soar in Moscow since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, but fears being caught up again by heavy Western sanctions. The Shenzhen group recorded a tripling of its sales during the first two weeks of March according to the firm MTS, taking advantage of the panic of consumers triggered by the fall of the ruble, as well as the withdrawal of Apple. The withdrawal of Westerners offers an avenue for Chinese brands, but Huawei is playing it safe, fearing that it will in turn be targeted, while many phone components remain under American license. Already on the blacklist of the United States and accused of having circumvented the sanctions against Iran, the world’s leading equipment supplier in the field of telecoms must navigate with caution in the heart of the new cold war, still being dependent on Western technologies.