Eva Dou on ‘The House of Huawei’

Chinese Whispers is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People’s Choice category here.

Among the casualties of Donald Trump’s trade war with China in his first presidency was the telecoms giant Huawei. Founded by former military engineer Ren Zhengfei, the company is a world-leading manufacturer of everything from telecoms equipment to smartphones.

But it fell foul of the Trump administration as it tried to become integral to the world’s rollout of 5G, leading to a backlash in the West and even the house arrest of Ren’s daughter. At the centre of the row is a suspicion that Huawei is essentially a state-owned company, working at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.

So as Trump prepares to go back to the White House, this episode tries to get to the bottom of the telecoms giant. Is it an arm of the Chinese state? How has it found such world dominating success? Can it survive a second Trump presidency?

Cindy Yu speaks to Eva Dou, technology reporter for the Washington Post. Her new book is the House of Huawei: Inside the Secret World of China’s Most Powerful Company.