Chinese consumers reportedly rush to buy Huawei phones while they still can

Huawei will soon be unable to make phones thanks to US sanctions, so demand is apparently spiking for them in China.

The news comes courtesy of Reuters, which reports that China’s major phone markets are experiencing significant price inflation on Huawei smartphones, especially the flagship ones. It looks like Chinese consumers have been keeping their eye on the news and, quite reasonably, anticipate a major shortage of Huawei gear before long.

The law of supply and demand rarely lets us down, especially since an anticipated fall in supply often brings about increased demand by itself. The newly enriched Chinese consumer is said to love a status symbol and it seems the most expensive designer versions of Huawei’s phones are going for 40% more than they were at the start of the year.

Thanks to US sanctions Huawei is unable to manufacture its own Kirin chips because chip fabs use American kit and obviously can’t buy them from market leader Qualcomm, which is a US company. Mediatek and SMIC have asked the US for a license to do business but it’s unlikely to be granted by an administration apparently determined to make an example of the Chinese tech giant.