Huawei's headquarters embodies its evolution into a global technology leader.© Peter Stein/stock.adobe.comTop Questions What is Huawei known for? Huawei is known for being the world’s largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and for its innovation in 5G communications infrastructure. What was the Meng Wanzhou incident? Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CFO and the founder’s daughter, was arrested in Canada in 2018 at U.S.’s request on charges of fraud and sanctions violations, sparking a diplomatic standoff with China. How did Huawei respond to Western restrictions? Huawei developed the HarmonyOS operating system and HiSilicon Kirin chips as domestic alternatives to U.S. technologies. Show MoreHuawei is a Chinese multinational technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former engineer in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), it began as a small parts reseller and grew into the world’s largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, employing about 208,000 workers worldwide.

　　Known for both innovation and controversy, Huawei largely outpaced Western competitors in developing 5G communications infrastructure and has helped modernize networks worldwide, from emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to rural areas of the United States.

　　Since 2018, Huawei has stood at the center of the U.S.–China technology rivalry, facing sanctions and allegations of espionage and complicity in human rights abuses. The company was also involved in a major diplomatic dispute that year following the arrest of Ren’s daughter, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities.

　　In response to Western restrictions, Huawei has emerged as a leading player in China’s push for technological self-sufficiency, developing the HarmonyOS operating system and HiSilicon Kirin chips as domestic alternatives to U.S. technologies.

　　1987–2000: Founding and early growthOrigins in Shenzhen’s economic reform eraHuawei was founded in 1987 with about 21,000 yuan (roughly $5,000) in start-up capital, initially reselling private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems imported from Hong Kong for hotels and small businesses in China.

　　As China’s economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping established special economic zones in Shenzhen and other cities to encourage private competition in strategic industries, Huawei emerged as one of the first domestic technology firms to benefit from that environment. By the early 1990s, Ren had shifted the company’s focus from resale to research and development, reverse-engineering PBX systems and producing Huawei’s first original product, the C&C08 digital switch, in 1993. The C&C08 became a domestic bestseller and positioned Huawei as a serious competitor to foreign suppliers such as Lucent, Siemens, and Alcatel.

　　Throughout the 1990s, Huawei benefited from government policies favoring domestic telecom manufacturers. Although not state owned, it maintained a close, symbiotic relationship with Chinese authorities, securing financing and contracts for provincial and military networks. During this period the company also cultivated its internal “wolf culture”—a reputation for discipline, long hours, and teamwork—and implemented an employee stock-ownership program that reinforced loyalty and helped it present itself as private rather than state controlled.

　　Although Huawei often emphasizes its humble beginnings, some reports suggest that the company’s rise was aided by substantial government assistance. A Wall Street Journal investigation in 2019 estimated that Huawei received as much as $75 billion in cumulative state support since the 1990s, including low-interest loans, tax breaks, grants, and discounted land purchases. Such aid, the report said, helped Huawei offer financing and prices that undercut foreign competitors. Huawei has maintained that such support was limited and comparable to incentives available to other Chinese technology firms.

　　2000–2015: International expansionBuilding networks in emerging marketsBy 2000, Huawei had grown rapidly and become one of China’s major telecommunications equipment suppliers; its C&C08 switch was widely deployed in China. The company launched an ambitious strategy of global expansion around this time.

　　Huawei’s first international contracts came from emerging markets, where Western suppliers were often too costly or absent. Beginning with Kenya in 1998, the company built networks across Africa, including in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa, and by 2005 it had become one of the continent’s leading telecommunications providers. Similar growth occurred in Southeast Asia, where Huawei partnered with carriers in Thailand and Malaysia, and in Latin America, where it opened offices in Brazil and Mexico.

　　Entering developed marketsIn the early 2000s Huawei also entered developed markets, establishing operations in the U.S., Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

　　Becoming a global smartphone makerDuring this period Huawei expanded beyond network equipment into consumer electronics, launching its first branded smartphones with the Ascend series in 2010. The company’s handset shipments grew rapidly, reaching about 108 million units in 2015 and making Huawei the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer, after Samsung and Apple (AAPL). By that year, Huawei’s products and services were available in more than 150 countries and regions.

　　2016–2018: 5G leadership and growing scrutinyBy 2016, Huawei was allocating more than 76.4 billion yuan (roughly $11 billion) annually toward research and development, placing it at the forefront of the global race to build fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks.

　　Chinese President Xi Jinping with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei in 2015.© Matthew Lloyd/POOL—AFP/Getty ImagesIts engineers filed thousands of international patents for 5G transmission and network design, enabling Huawei to deliver equipment that the company characterized as highly cost competitive and energy efficient, helping it gain market share against established rivals such as Ericsson and Nokia.

　　Huawei’s prominence paralleled China’s growing emphasis on technological leadership under President Xi Jinping, who identified innovation as key to national development.

　　Huawei’s technological edge soon attracted scrutiny from the U.S. and its allies, whose intelligence agencies warned that its products could enable Chinese government espionage. Huawei categorically denied all such claims.

　　2018–2021: The Meng Wanzhou case and U.S.–China rivalry

　　Meng Wanzhou in 2021, during her extradition case that drew global attention.© Don MacKinnon—AFP/Getty ImagesIn 2018, the U.S. effectively banned Huawei equipment from its networks, a move soon followed by Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. That same year tensions surrounding Huawei escalated sharply when Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer and daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors accused Meng and Huawei of bank fraud and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran through a Hong Kong affiliate, Skycom.

　　Diplomatic fallout and hostage diplomacyIn apparent retaliation, Chinese authorities detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on espionage charges. For nearly three years Meng remained under house arrest in Canada while “the two Michaels,” as they became known, were held in China in a standoff widely described as hostage diplomacy. The dispute ended in September 2021 when all three were released after Meng reached a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities.

　　Impact on Huawei’s global reputationThe incident permanently altered Huawei’s international reputation. Once known chiefly for its success as a technology company, Huawei increasingly came to symbolize the deepening confrontation between China and the West and the growing divide in global technology systems.

　　2021–2025: Sanctions and reinventionIn 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei and dozens of its affiliates to its “entity list,” following earlier bans on the company’s equipment in the U.S. and allied countries. The designation cut Huawei off from advanced U.S. semiconductors, Google’s Android services, and American-made design software. The restrictions triggered the most severe crisis in the company’s history and led to a sharp decline in its global smartphone market share.

　　Huawei's Mate XT foldable smartphone demonstrated the company's drive to innovate.© Wongsakorn/stock.adobe.comDeveloping domestic alternativesHuawei responded by evolving into China’s leading player in the country’s push for technological self-reliance. Its semiconductor arm, HiSilicon, continued developing the Kirin chip series, while engineers launched the HarmonyOS operating system in 2019 as an alternative to Android.

　　The company expanded its work in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and business networking and cloud services. Huawei also sought to sustain its smartphone business with high-end models, including foldable designs that showcased its engineering capabilities.

　　By the mid-2020s Huawei had stabilized financially and allocated more than 20% of its revenue—about 180 billion yuan ($25.1 billion) in 2024—to research and development.

　　Shifting to AI, cloud, and 5G optimizationIn 2025, Huawei continued to make advances in 5G and AI-driven telecommunications, unveiling new uplink and network-optimization technologies and releasing the high-end Pura 80 Ultra smartphone. Yet the company remained politically contentious. As Europe navigated the escalating U.S.–China rivalry, Germany faced renewed U.S. pressure to curb Huawei’s role in network infrastructure and reportedly explored compensating European telecom providers to assume parts of its operations.

　　Legacy and perspectiveBy the mid-2020s, Huawei had transformed from a small electronics reseller into a global leader in telecommunications and consumer technology. Its rapid growth, shaped by state support, technological innovation, and geopolitical controversy, underscores how deeply global commerce and national security have become intertwined in the global economy.

　　Ethan Teekah