Huawei asked app makers to build software for an app store outside China in 2018
- The app store plans, which haven’t been previously reported, underscore how important Europe is for Huawei after being shut out of the US market
Huawei Technologies made a pitch to app makers last year: Build software for a new Huawei app store outside China, and we’ll help you inside the world’s most populous nation.
China’s largest technology company told potential partners that by the end of 2018, it would have 50 million Europeans using its own app store, rather than Google’s, according to documents viewed by Bloomberg News. Huawei also held talks with European wireless carriers about spreading this new app store even further, people involved in those talks said.
The app store plans, which haven’t been previously reported, underscore how important Europe is for Huawei. The company has been all but shut out of the US phone market due to long-standing security concerns. But now even its designs for Europe are in jeopardy – along with Huawei’s hard-won status as the world’s second-largest smartphone maker.
That’s because on Friday, the Trump administration restricted American companies from selling to Huawei. The ruling forced Google to pull most of its Android operating system and ubiquitous mobile services from future Huawei devices.
The US company will still be able to provide key Android security updates under a 90-day reprieve that the Trump administration granted on some export restrictions, a person familiar with the matter said. Google will still withhold its apps from future Huawei phones, the person added.
