Update | Huawei’s US market dreams ‘harmed again’ after AT&T walks away from smartphone pact
Decision scuttles Huawei’s immediate plans for the competitive US market because many American consumers buy smartphones through carriers
“We have been harmed again,” Huawei’s consumer business unit chief executive officer Richard Yu said in a text message to the South China Morning Post.
The abrupt cancellation of the deal is the latest sign of tensions between China and the US over trade and investment, with Washington calling for trade actions against China and tightening screening of Chinese companies, especially in the hi-tech sector.
A former Chinese commerce official said the collapse of the deal will threaten Sino-US cooperation on trade and investment, and that Beijing should consider taking countermeasures if the situation escalates.
The Shenzhen-based Huawei had been widely expected to announce its partnership with AT&T during CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday – in what would have been its first alliance with a major US carrier.