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Hong Kong / Shenzhen (CNN Business) - Huawei's CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei believes that his company can still become the world's largest smartphone brand, even if it remains isolated from Google software and applications.
The Chinese company is already the largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the world. He was on his way to surpassing Samsung as the number one smartphone seller this year, until he reached a blacklist in US commerce. The restriction prohibits US companies such as Google, Intel and Broadcom from selling to Huawei unless they obtain a government license to do so.
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Now, the overseas market share gained with Huawei effort is being reduced, as customers outside China distrust buying a phone that may not have access to the Google Play Store and popular applications such as Facebook, Uber and Google Maps.
When asked in an interview with CNN Business on Tuesday if Huawei can still become the world's number 1 smartphone brand, even without Google, Ren said: "I don't think that's a problem," he added that it will only take more time.
Huawei has been under pressure for a broader US campaign against it. Washington says Huawei products pose a national security risk, claims the Chinese company rejects.
Some US companies, such as Microsoft, received licenses last week from the US Department of Commerce authorizing limited businesses that do not pose a significant risk to national security or foreign policy interests. The department also said that some companies have been denied licenses.
Ren told CNN Business that Google has not been denied a license or received it. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Huawei has repeatedly said that it would prefer to work with Google if possible. But he is working on a “large-scale” backup plan, Ren said.
Huawei has been developing its own operating system, called Harmony, as well as an app store. But Huawei has only 45,000 applications available for download. That compares with about 2.8 million on the Google Play Store, according to market data company Statista.
LOOK : Huawei sales remain on the rise despite US sanctions
Ren said the United States remains the most powerful country when it comes to innovation, and no one, including China, can outperform the country in the "next decades."
But he suggested that Washington could inadvertently help the increase in competitors if it continues to impose restrictions on who US companies can trade with.
If Huawei cannot work with US suppliers, “we will have to resort to alternatives. If those alternatives mature, I think it will be less likely to go back to previous versions, ”Ren said.
"[It's] a critical moment for all of us, I hope that the US government can consider what's best for American companies," he added.
Huawei's business has proven to be widely resilient this year, despite the blacklist trade. When the company reported earnings last month, it said revenues increased 24% in the first nine months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. The increase in smartphone sales in China helped.
Huawei
