Huawei’s Growth Strategies and Challenges in Russia

Abstract

Convinced that Chinese companies could have a global influence, Ren Zhengfei, the founder of the telecommunications company Huawei, chose Russia as the first country for international expansion. In 1997, when its overseas office opened there, Russia was facing an economic crisis. Many domestic companies had slowed down their operations due to political and financial uncertainty. Huawei seized this opportunity and invested in Russia. However, initially it faced severe difficulties in attracting orders. Today, the Russian market is among the key priorities for Huawei. It has 11 offices, R&D and learning centers throughout the country, and is among the top three suppliers of smartphones. How did this company overcome the lack of presence and other difficulties? This chapter examines Huawei’s experience in doing business in Russia. In particular, it focuses on the growth strategies that Huawei adopted to facilitate its expansion and examines the challenges it faced in its quest to achieve the leading position in the market.