Huawei bets big on European 5G patents despite Trump’s pressure
- Two-thirds of Huawei’s applications were in the field of digital communications, which includes 5G
- US efforts at blacklisting Huawei have not stopped the company from growing its business in Europe
Even as the Trump administration pressures European countries to stop using Huawei Technologies gear, the Chinese telecommunications giant is increasing its footprint there, filing more patent applications in Europe than any other company last year.
Huawei filed 3,524 patent applications, far more than the 2,858 applications filed by No 2 Samsung Electronics, according to a report by the European Patent Office. Two-thirds of Huawei’s applications were in the field of digital communications, which includes the next generation of wireless communications known as 5G.
European officials have thus far largely defied US insistence they exclude China’s biggest maker of telecoms equipment from new 5G mobile networks, but not without continuing controversy.
Officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration have urged Johnson and other European allies to stop doing business with Huawei over claims the company is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party and its involvement in 5G could enable spying.
Shenzhen-based Huawei has always denied these allegations.