China's largest information technology (IT) company, Huawei, has made a bold declaration to return to the global smartphone market. Huawei had virtually vanished from the global stage due to concentrated sanctions from U.S. President Donald Trump's first term. Now that Trump's second term has just begun, Huawei is fighting back. Their weapon is the proprietary technology they have built through massive investments. Attention is focused on whether Huawei, which has already regained a complete recovery in China, will dramatically revive on the world stage.
On the afternoon of the 18th (local time), Huawei announced that it will launch three products in the global market, including the premium smartphone "Mate XT," a smart tablet PC, and earphones, at the Kuala Lumpur International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Malaysia. Among these, the Mate XT is the world's first "trifold" smartphone with a screen that folds twice, unveiled by Huawei in September last year. Until now, it has only been sold in the Chinese market, but starting from this day, Huawei is set to intensify its assault on the global market. Andreas Zimmer, a senior product expert at Huawei, noted, "There is no machine that better represents our ambitions than the Mate XT," adding, "The Mate XT is one of Huawei's ultra-premium, ultimate design series."
Huawei chose the moment when Trump just began his second term to declare its return to the global stage. Trump is the one who brought Huawei down in the global smartphone market. Until 2019, Huawei's market share in the Chinese smartphone market was nearing 40%, ranking first. In the second quarter of 2020, it achieved a global market share of 20%, reaching first place. However, as Trump's "crackdown on Huawei" intensified after late 2018, Huawei began to falter. Google cut off access to the Android operating system (OS) and Qualcomm semiconductor supply lines to Huawei. Ultimately, unable to sell smartphones, Huawei's market share plummeted to single digits, both globally and within China. Apple and other domestic companies free from U.S. sanctions filled the void left by Huawei.
Nevertheless, Huawei has ultimately succeeded in a rebound in performance. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, in the fourth quarter of last year, Huawei recorded an 18.1% market share in the Chinese smartphone market, regaining the top position. This is the first time Huawei has regained its leading position since the U.S. sanctions. The Chinese IT media, Sohu, commented, "For Huawei, this is a moment of rebirth like a phoenix after passing through dark times." Huawei also announced that its revenue exceeded 860 billion yuan (about 170.6 trillion won) last year, marking the highest level in four years since 2020 (891.4 billion yuan, about 176.9 trillion won). This suggests that as it regained its domestic market share from Apple, it has also gained momentum for overseas expansion.
The key to Huawei's successful self-reliance is said to be its massive investment in research and development (R&D). In 2023 alone, it invested 164.7 billion yuan (about 32.7 trillion won), which accounts for 23.4% of total sales in R&D. That year, it succeeded in self-sourcing 7-nanometer semiconductors and launched a 5G smartphone that surprised the world. Additionally, it developed its own OS, "Harmony (Chinese name Hongmeng, 鴻蒙) OS," becoming independent from the Android OS ecosystem. As of October last year, the number of devices using Harmony OS exceeded 1 billion.
The fact that this global smartphone market entry strategy originated from rotating chairperson Meng Wanzhou holds significant meaning. Meng, the eldest daughter of founder and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ren Zhengfei, has been fulfilling her second rotational chairperson duties since October last year and is also known as a prominent figure symbolizing U.S.-China tensions. She was emergency detained in Canada for three years on allegations of engaging in transactions with Iran, which the U.S. prohibits. Thus, it can be said that a person who stood at the forefront of U.S.-China tensions directly wrote a challenge to the U.S. Huawei has operated a system since 2012 where three vice chairpersons (Meng Wanzhou, Xu Zhi Jun, and Hu Houkun) rotate every six months, co-managing with Chairman Ren. There are speculations that Meng will succeed the CEO position after serving several more rotations as chairperson.
However, it remains to be seen whether Huawei can also make a magnificent comeback in the global market. Regaining the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market has significant ties to a surge in nationalistic consumption known as "Guochao" due to U.S.-China tensions. In 2023, it was reported that the use of iPhones by government officials has been banned, suggesting that the Chinese government is also backing Huawei. Furthermore, Huawei's decision to select Malaysia as a stage for its global return seems influenced by the judgment that it would be challenging to immediately enter U.S. territory. Over 20% of Malaysia's population is of Chinese descent. The high price is another hurdle, with the Mate XT starting at 19,999 yuan (about 4 million won) in China. Huawei has set the global price at €3,499 (about 5.3 million won).