By jahangir_ashraf
Publication Date: 2026-10-16 02:30:00
Huawei’s rise to one of the most widespread technology suppliers in the world is usually explained in Washington through its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. A recent account by Eric Xu, Huawei’s rotating chairman and deputy chairman, points to a very different and far less expected influence: IBM.
The lessons from that relationship reach well beyond Huawei.
Xu joined Huawei in 1993 and was part of its shift from a maker of telephone switches into a global technology group. He has historically been guarded about the company’s internal operations, which makes the level of detail in his account of the IBM partnership unusual. The timing is also notable. Huawei is contesting a U.S. Department of Justice case in a federal court in Brooklyn, and a more open communications posture may help shape perceptions as the case proceeds. Equally, the company’s momentum may leave it largely indifferent to either consideration.
A global footprint built on…
