Just under a year ago, Jay Chen, Huawei India’s then chief executive, was riding high at the Indian Mobile Congress as he discussed the imminent rollout of 5G in the country.
“Huawei will play a very active role in the India 5G journey,” Mr Chen, who has since been promoted, told the Financial Times at the gathering of the country’s biggest telecoms players. “My perception is the Indian government shows their full confidence and support in Huawei.”
Less than 12 months on, that picture is very different. Huawei — already grappling with a fresh set of sanctions imposed by Washington over security concerns — is facing another crisis after a brutal border clash between India and China earlier this year spurred New Delhi to give unofficial orders to telecoms companies barring them from using Chinese vendors for future investments.