Eva Dou’s House of Huawei arrives at a moment of intense global reordering, where technology, geopolitics and economic nationalism collide. The timing of this book couldn’t be more significant. It enters the public discourse in the aftermath of the US-China trade war that intensified under Donald Trump’s presidency. However, much before Trump’s rhetoric—steeped in claims that the world had taken unfair advantage of the US by imposing steep tariffs on its goods—took centrestage, the standoff with Huawei had peaked, with consequences for the company.
At the heart of the book is a nuanced and well-researched chronicle of how this once obscure telecom firm, founded by a former People’s Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei, evolved into a global technology behemoth. But more than just a corporate biography, the book operates as a narrative lens of the global tech war, one that straddles national security, surveillance, trade policy, and the ideological rift between liberal democracies and authoritarian capitalism.
The attack on Huawei was a result of not only a strategic threat, but also a competitive one. Huawei’s meteoric rise, powered by low prices, aggressive innovation, and strong state backing, allowed it to beat American and European rivals in global telecom markets. By the mid-2010s, it was leading the world in telecom infrastructure deployment. That success, ironically, sealed its fate.
The flashpoint came in December 2018, when Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CFO and Ren’s daughter, at the behest of the US department of justice. Charged with violating sanctions against Iran, her detention sparked a diplomatic firestorm and tit-for-tat arrests by China, underscoring how deeply entangled Huawei had become in global geopolitics. As Dou explores in the book, the move was more than legal enforcement, it was the play of geopolitical forces. And Huawei, knowingly or not, had become both an actor and symbol in a broader conflict.
Though the book delves into US-China tiff, Indian readers will find a resonance in this story. Huawei’s story in India mirrors its global trajectory, one of dominance followed by a sharp reversal. Until a few years ago, Huawei had out-competed nearly all Western equipment makers in the telecom sector. The build out of 4G networks by the telcos, barring Reliance Jio, was largely powered by Huawei gear. Its solutions were not just technologically advanced but came at cheaper rates, and were hugely popular in the telecom sector.
However, the tables turned after 2020. A border skirmish between India and China in Galwan Valley coupled with rising security concerns around Huawei’s potential links to the Chinese state led to a decisive policy shift. The government, on the lines of US concerns and its own geopolitical problems with China, began sidelining Huawei from future telecom expansion. It was indirectly banned from participating in 5G trials, as the government emphasised “trusted sources” in its telecom policy, a thinly veiled exclusion of Chinese vendors. Thus, a distrust, once primarily voiced in the US, had found echoes in India.
The context of the book enriches its narrative as it is not just about a company, but how trust, or the lack thereof, now defines global technology policy. Dou adeptly balances the history of Huawei’s rise with an honest exploration of why it became a perfect case for suspicion. She doesn’t settle for easy answers. Instead, she offers readers a deeply contextualised view by drawing parallels to surveillance practices of American tech giants post-Snowden, while also probing the unique opacity and Communist Party’s ties with Chinese firms.
Dou’s deep reporting traces how Ren’s military background shaped Huawei’s hierarchical, mission-driven culture. His belief that technological sovereignty was akin to national defence—he once said that a country without its own telecom switches is like one without an army— shows how tightly Huawei’s vision was linked with China’s national aspirations.
The book is structured chronologically, which helps readers track Huawei’s evolution from its rudimentary beginnings in the 1980s to its current position as a global influencer. Dou offers critical insights into the company’s internal culture, its gruelling work ethic, employee ownership model, and obsession with survival. While she talks about Huawei’s controversies like accusations of intellectual property theft, the secretive operations of its Communist Party committee, or the lingering questions around backdoors in its equipment, she also highlights the firm’s undeniable technical achievements, such as its prowess in 5G and R&D. This point will be endorsed by telecom industry leaders in India who routinely visit the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and never miss to visit Huawei’s pavilion to catch up with the latest in the world of R&D.
Where House of Huawei particularly excels is in capturing the broader implications of Huawei’s story. The company’s journey also shows China’s journey from being the world’s factory to an innovation powerhouse. The company’s global 5G footprint and infrastructure projects across Africa, Europe, and Latin America reflect not just market savvy but geopolitical strategy. This alarms countries like the US and even India, which fear that Chinese technological dominance could translate into influence, surveillance, and even coercion.
The book’s even-handed tone may disappoint readers expecting definitive answers on whether Huawei is a security threat or a scapegoat. But Dou’s restraint is her strength. She treats Huawei not as a monolith of villainy or virtue, but as a complex institution navigating a world that has grown deeply suspicious of Chinese power.
While some may find the book boring due to the technical details, it is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the fault lines of 21st-century global power and how technology has got intertwined in geopolitical tussles.
House of Huawei: Inside the Secret World of China’s Most Powerful Company
Eva Dou
Hachette
Pp 448, Rs 799
