Samsung thought selling 500,000 Galaxy Folds was a feat worthy of praise. Samsung is the king of the smartphone industry. But Huawei keeps getting closer to dethroning Samsung thanks to the introduction of smartphones like the Mate X and the Pro 30 series.
Huawei introduced the Mate X in China in November and according to company officials, 200,000 Mate X flew off the shelves when the $2,400 smartphone hit retail. The Mate X is only available in China thanks to President Trump’s plan to make Huawei beg. Mr. Trump banned U.S. tech companies from doing business with the giant tech company last May.
CEO Ren Zhengfei told the press Huawei’s 2019 revenue was $122 billion which is an 18 percent increase over the company’s 2018 revenue. Ren plans to introduce the Mate X update called the Mate XS this year, but that phone may only be available in China.
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CEO, is still under house arrest in Vancouver for allegedly using a Hong Kong shell company to do business with Iran. The U.S. State Department asked Canada to arrest Meng for violating Iranian sanctions. Trump wants to force Canada to extradite Wanzhou so he can use her as a bargaining chip during his tech trade negotiations with China. Wanzhou didn’t break Canadian law, but according to a Canadian Department of Justice prosecutor using a Hong Kong shell company amounted to fraud in Canada, so she did break the law.
Wanzhou is due back in court January 20th to hear the court’s decision. Meng’s lawyers also claim Canadian Customs officials violated Meng’s rights when they took her tech devices away and sent her information to Trump before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police put the cuffs on her. If Canada sends Wanzhou to the United States, China will retaliate. Canada’s relationship with China hasn’t been the same since Meng put the ankle brace on. China arrested two Canadians after Meng’s arrest. The men still sit in a Chinese jail waiting for the Wanzhou saga to come to an end.
Arresting Meng is just one trick the Trumpster has up his lawbreaking sleeves. He continues to threaten Europe with revenge if Huawei gets its 5G business. Mr. Trump told his pal Boris Johnson he can forget about getting intelligence briefings from him if he does business with Ren Zhengfei’s company. U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the press Mr. Trump continues to threaten England, but Boris swears he won’t let Trump interfere with his 5G decision-making process.
