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May 18, 2021 - World

Huawei's cloud services find government buyers

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

Data: Reconnecting Asia Project, “Reconnecting Asia Huawei Cloud & e-Government Data,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 2021; Map: Michelle McGhee/Axios

Chinese telecom giant Huawei is finding plenty of government buyers for its cloud services despite growing suspicion of the company, according to new data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Reconnecting Asia Project.

The big picture: Middle-income countries without strong civil freedoms are the most common customers for Huawei's cloud and e-government services.

By the numbers: CSIS researchers found 70 agreements in 41 countries between governments (or state-owned enterprises) and Huawei.

  • 77% of those agreements occurred in countries that Freedom House has ranked as either "not free" or "partly free," such as Saudi Arabia and Zambia.
  • 72% of agreements were in middle-income countries, including Mexico and Malaysia.

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