Huawei is making a comeback and catching up with the iPhone in the Chinese market despite tough US sanctions

by Web Summit

The United States has imposed strict trade restrictions on certain companies and manufacturers to curb China's semiconductor development. Meanwhile, Huawei, a major telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in China, is showing signs of recovery in its smartphone market share in China, and other media outlets have reported that it is circumventing the restrictions and thriving.

Apple, smartphone peers lose ground in China market amid Huawei comeback | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3293480/apple-smartphone-peers-lose-ground-china-market-amid-huawei-comeback

Apple's China troubles mount as foreign phone sales sink for 4th month | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/foreign-smartphone-shipments-china-slump-47-november-2025-01-03/

Huawei says it is training 300,000 tech students a year amid US clampdown - Nikkei Asia
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/China-tech/Huawei-says-it-is-training-300-000-tech-students-a-year-amid-US-clampdown

According to a report released by the state-run China Academy of Information and Communications Technology on January 3, 2025, the number of units shipped by overseas smartphone manufacturers in China in November 2024 was approximately 3.04 million, a 47.3% decrease from approximately 5.77 million units in the same month of the previous year. In addition, the number of smartphones shipped by overseas manufacturers from January to November 2024 was approximately 42 million units, also a 22% decrease from the previous year. Although the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology did not name specific brands, it referred to 'overseas smartphone manufacturers,' but since the majority of foreign smartphones sold in China are iPhones, it has been reported that 'Huawei's revival in the high-class smartphone field has intensified competition, and Apple is facing a difficult battle.'

According to a report released at the end of 2024 by Canalys , a Singapore-based technology analysis company, Huawei's domestic shipments in the high-end smartphone market priced at $600 or more (approximately 95,000 yen) showed a high growth rate of 34% year-on-year as of the third quarter of 2024. On the other hand, Apple's iPhone shipments in China decreased by 5% year-on-year as of the third quarter of 2024, and although it still maintained a 52% share of the high-end smartphone market in China, it was pointed out that it was on a downward trend.

In response to the company's declining market share in China, the company is running an unprecedented iPhone price cut campaign in China from January 4 to 7, 2025. The campaign offers a $68.50 discount on flagship smartphones, and is expected to take advantage of consumer spending caution due to China's economic slowdown and deflationary pressures.

While Huawei is subject to technology sanctions from the United States, it has established a system to avoid sanctions by developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that is useful for AI research, etc. In addition, in August 2024, Huawei received billions of dollars (several hundred billion yen) in aid from the Chinese government, and succeeded in expanding new businesses and increasing profits.

Huawei has expanded into new businesses, built supply chains and boosted profits thanks to billions of dollars in support from the Chinese government - GIGAZINE

In addition, to increase its global value amid technology sanctions, Huawei has established 'Technology Academies' in cooperation with more than 3,000 universities in 110 countries to train hundreds of thousands of engineers per year, said Huawei CFO Sabrina Mong in her New Year's greeting on January 1, 2025. 'Huawei has experienced countless darkness, uncertainty and defeat. But at the same time, we have performed one miracle after another and made the impossible possible,' Mong said, highlighting achievements in AI, chip development and HarmonyOS as successes in 2024.