Chinese equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE announced major deals with U.S. suppliers following Chinese VP Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the United States.
Huawei awarded $6 billion in contracts to three California semiconductor companies with which it aleady does business: Qualcomm, Broadcom and Avago. Huawei is the world’s No. 2 telecom equipment manufacturer behind Ericsson and is also a player in the handset market. But the company has struggled to win business from major U.S. carriers.
ZTE awarded a four-year, $4 billion contract to Qualcomm, and a three-year, $1 billion contract to Broadcom.
Huawei said the deals unerscore its continued commitment to the U.S. market. The three-year original equipment manufacturer contracts are expected to directly and indirectly create over tens of thousands of job opportunities for U.S. businesses while contributing to growth and development opportunities for California’s high-tech as well as the ICT industry as a whole, the company stated.
“This procurement agreement reaffirms Huawei’s determination to deliver on its promise to be a local economy contributor, and is a demonstration of confidence in the long-term relationships we have cultivated with our local high-tech partners,” Huawei’s Senior Corporate VP Chen Lifang, said.
“The U.S. holds the leading position in the ICT industry, and when coupled with Huawei’s long-term dedication to innovation in the U.S. market, the result is a strategic collaboration to develop a more diversified, balanced and healthier global ICT ecosystem,” Lifang added.
Huawei noted that since establishing its U.S. operations in 2001, it has partnered with 280 U.S. technology providers, with total procurement contracts exceeding $30 billion. These contracts have covered software, components, chipsets and services, and its 2011 procurement in this region saw an 8% year-over-year increase. Huawei’s U.S. headquarters are in Plano, Texas. The company has 13 regional offices located across the country, including in Atlanta, Chicago and San Diego, and claims to employ more than 1,700 professionals and support staff.
