Huawei opens Shanghai flagship store as US pressure grows
Chinese telecom giant Huawei opened its second global
flagship store in Shanghai on Wednesday, part of plans to strengthen its brand
in its core Chinese consumer market as it faces headwinds overseas.
Hundreds of face mask-wearing customers queued up to enter
the 5,000-square-metre store — Huawei's largest — located on the city's busiest
shopping street and directly across from a retail outlet of rival Apple.
Company representatives said Huawei intends to open several
more such stores in China in the coming year to showcase its smartphones and
other consumer tech, plans that they said were conceived before the US
government launched a worldwide campaign against the firm about 18 months ago.
Huawei is the world's largest supplier of telecom network
equipment and planet's number two smartphone maker.
The Trump administration accuses Huawei of stealing American
trade secrets and says its telecommunications equipment could be used by
Beijing for espionage.
Washington has essentially banned Huawei from the US market,
urged other countries to shun its network gear, and is seeking to cut it off
from global semiconductor suppliers.
The international rancour was on 80-year-old retiree Chen
Yannian's mind as he shopped for a new handphone. “To be honest, with the
United States suppressing Huawei, we must support Huawei,” Chen said.
He also cited the ongoing detention in Canada of Huawei
executive Meng Wanzhou — daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. She is
fighting a US extradition request related to charges that Huawei violated Iran
sanctions.
“America is not only suppressing Huawei, but all of China,”
he said. “If we can, we should try our best to support patriotism, right?”
Huawei had a commanding 42.6 per cent share of China's total
smartphone market in the first quarter of 2020, according to the International
Data Corporation (IDC). But it said Huawei could face stiffening competition in
the growing 5G phone segment from cheaper rivals.
The US also has barred Huawei from using Google's Android
operating system, meaning the company now faces the challenge of building a
following for its home-grown alternative system HarmonyOS in a world dominated
by Android and Apple's iOS.
Like its rivals, Huawei revenue also has been hit by the
pandemic, growing just 1.4pc in the first quarter, down from 39pc growth in Q1
2019.
Huawei denies the US security-threat allegations, saying
Washington has never provided evidence and that American pressure is motivated
by fear of falling behind rising Chinese tech companies.
Last month, Huawei said that US efforts to cut off access to
semiconductor supplies could threaten the company's “survival”.
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