Huawei reclaims top spot in China’s phone market: data

Tech giant Huawei topped China’s smartphone market for the first time in over four years, outflanking US tech giant Apple as well as local competitors including Xiaomi, according to the US-based International Data Corporation.

The Shenzhen device maker captured 18.1% of the local phone market in the second quarter of this year, shipping 12.5 million units, an IDC report published on Tuesday showed.

Huawei’s domestic rebound comes after the company has faced a smattering of US export controls, Western bans and a graft probe in Belgium.

China’s overall smartphone market shrank after six quarters of growth, according to the IDC data, with shipments totaling 69 million units, down 4% on-year.

“Despite the recent US-China trade truce, the broader economic environment presents ongoing challenges, with consumer confidence remaining subdued,” Arthur Guo, a senior research analyst at IDC, said in the report.

“This suggests that a significant uplift in smartphone demand is unlikely in the immediate term, and the market will navigate a more complex landscape in the second half of the year.”

China’s economy grew more than 5% in the second quarter, official figures showed, despite the tariff chaos unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

Huawei has been at the center of an intense standoff between the world’s top two economies after Washington warned the company’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage, an allegation the company denies.

Sanctions since 2019 have curtailed the firm’s access to US-made technologies, forcing it to develop its own components.

California-based Apple has been suffering a slump in iPhone sales in China, and last year ceded its status as the country’s best-selling smartphone brand to two local rivals.

In the IDC report, Apple came in fifth on the list, retaining 13.9% of China’s smartphone market and shipping 9.6 million units.

© 2025 AFP