Huawei, Called a Security Threat by the U.S., to Focus on Other Markets

Huawei Technologies Co. said it plans to refocus on existing markets, following a series of setbacks in the U.S. and as the technology industry gets caught up in the spiraling trade spat between Washington and Beijing.

“It is beyond myself to clearly explain what is going on between the two countries,” Eric Xu, one of the Chinese telecom giant’s three rotating CEOs, said at an annual meeting in Huawei’s home city of Shenzhen. He said Huawei will spend more effort serving existing customers.

The U.S. government has called Huawei, the world’s largest provider of telecom equipment such as base stations and routers, a national-security threat and has cited its potential dominance of next-generation 5G technologies. National-security fears were also behind the U.S. decision in March to block the takeover of chip maker Qualcomm Inc. by then Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd. on grounds that the deal could endanger American technological prowess. Huawei has long denied its products pose a security threat.

Huawei, the world’s third-biggest smartphone vendor, has also failed to secure distribution deals with U.S. carriers.

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