Huawei ban: China threatens to ban foreign companies

China is creating a blacklist of foreign companies in retaliation to the US ban on Huawei. Photo / Getty Images

China is preparing a blacklist of foreign companies in retaliation to the US ban of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

The Chinese government on Friday announced it will establish its own list of "unreliable entities" consisting of foreign businesses, corporations and individuals.

Wang Shouwen, China's vice commerce minister and deputy international trade representative, said China would issue more detailed information on the unreliable entities list soon, but that it was aimed at enterprises that "violated market principles" and cut supplies of components to Chinese businesses for non-commercial reasons.

China's statement that it intends to publish such a list follows additional measures last week that deepened the bite of US sanctions imposed on Huawei in mid-May.

Several leading US-based global technology standards-setting groups announced restrictions on Huawei's participation in their activities under US Commerce Department rules that bar the sale and transfer of US technology to Huawei without government approval.

Google last month prevented Huawei from accessing the latest versions of the Android mobile phone operating system.

Other big tech firms, including Intel and Qualcomm, also revealed they would no longer supply vital components to the company, further jeopardising its future.

"Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google," Google sources told news agencies.

Cutting off access to Android may damage Huawei's multinational mobile phone business.

It is one of the world's three largest phone makers and has an especially large proportion of its activity in developing countries.

It is unclear which other Google apps may be affected.

The digital giant said that "the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices."

But experts predict most Australian consumers and telcos would abandon the beleaguered Chinese tech giant, amid revelations local buyers would not qualify for refunds even if their smartphones failed to receive Google software updates and apps.

Many Australian consumers have responded by selling their Huawei handsets online.

Lawyer and privacy advocate Travis Schultz told News Corp Australia many consumers were also seeking advice on whether they could apply for refunds from Huawei under Australian Consumer Law.

But he said consumers would not qualify as the smartphones were still operational, and users did not have a direct contract with Google to provide new software features, apps and updates.

"There are a lot of people saying, 'that's it for me'," Schultz said.

"They're going to take the safe option and go to someone other than Huawei because of a lack of software updates. There are a lot of allegations being made about Huawei so there's a great deal of uncertainty."

Huawei Australia corporate affairs director Jeremy Mitchell said users could be assured that the US ban would not immediately "impact" them.

"Consumers with Huawei devices will still receive security updates and be able to use Google apps," he told News Corp Australia last month.

"Huawei will continue to provide after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally."

The ban will hit future Huawei smartphones the hardest, including the much-anticipated Mate X with a folding screen, as Google will not provide the devices with Android software, its apps, or access to its app store.

- additional reporting AP.