Huawei, China's largest maker of telecommunications equipment, is poised to focus its expansion in Europe as a way to increase its presence in developing markets and to offset hurdles in the US.
Despite the economic stagnation that has crippled the region, there was "a strong business case to be made in Europe", Li Sanqi, the chief technology officer of Huawei's flagship carrier network division said at the company's annual analysts' summit in Shenzhen on Tuesday.
For Li, a leading role in Europe meant leading where "business transformation was more ahead than elsewhere" and would allow Huawei's carrier network to expand more easily in the developing world.
The carrier division accounts for almost three quarters of Huawei's revenue.
The Shenzhen-based company's consumer device division is focussing on Europe with the same rationale. "It is a way we can touch more and more people," said Shao Yang, chief marketing officer for the division. "They can influence other regions and have networks in so many countries."
Shao said that Huawei was overcoming scepticism by European customers over the company's move to sell its products under its own brand. "In the first half of [last] year, we lost 90 per cent of our customers," he said. "This year our customers are coming back."
Shao said he expected the company to double smartphones sales globally from 32 million last year to 60 million in 2013, adding that China would still remain the largest market.