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Huawei’s bad karma with Trump

Published: 25 Nov. 2024, 19:57

HAN WOO-DUK
The author is a senior reporter of the China Lab.

“What? Why is it still here?” U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take a second term in office, may say this when designing his China policy in reference to Huawei.

He pressured Huawei throughout his last term by cutting off the supply of high-tech semiconductors and driving them out of the market. He also pressured allies to cut off Huawei’s communication equipment and had Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the Huawei founder, detained in Canada. Trump would get angry to learn that Huawei is still alive and well.

Actually, it became stronger. Its 5G smartphone, Mate 60, is the symbol of its thriving business. The world is astonished at the 7-nanometer semiconductor used in it. Recently, it surprised the industry again by introducing a phone that folds twice. Chinese people raved over its “triumph” after getting through the U.S. sanctions, and Huawei became No. 2 in the smartphone market in China, overtaking Apple.

Huawei is ready to make another surprise this week. It is unveiling “Mate 70,” which it claims would be “the most powerful smartphone in history.” The operating system used in it is “Harmony OS 5.” Google’s Android-based application does not work on Harmony. It is a declaration that it will completely break away from the Western system.

Huawei claims that about 1 billion smart devices use Harmony OS. It is expanding not only to smartphones but also to smart devices such as factories, automobiles and home appliances. And the state is behind this. The Chinese government had Huawei donate Harmony OS and is spreading it across all industries. In other words, Huawei plays a pivotal role in China’s technology independence.

Huawei has one new mission — to build a semiconductor supply chain. According to a recent report by Bloomberg News, China has put Huawei at the core of building its own supply chain from design to production and packaging. The government is investing money and has called on related companies and research institutes, like universities, to participate. It will not be possible to win the competition of technological hegemony without putting down Huawei, the symbol of self-reliance. This is why Trump has no choice but to hit Huawei again.

When Trump finished his first presidency, Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada, wearing an electronic bracelet. Now, she is a rotating chairperson of Huawei Technology until the end of March 2025. She will watch the inauguration of Trump in Washington D.C. from her living room couch in Shenzhen. It is an ill-fated relationship and a prelude for a more intense technology hegemony contest to unfold between the United States and China in the second Trump term.