HUAWEI Technologies’ founder Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg that retaliation by China against Apple Inc. was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move against the iPhone maker.

When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would “protest” against any such step if it were to be taken.

“That (Chinese retaliation against Apple) will not happen first of all and second of all, if that happens, I’ll be the first to protest,” Ren said in the interview published yesterday.

He conceded that export curbs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will cut into a two-year lead built by Huawei over its competitors, but added that the company will either ramp up its chip supply or find alternatives to stay ahead in smartphones and 5G.

Samsung Electronics Co. may have a chance to strengthen its position in the smartphone market due to the hurt caused to Huawei in the wake of Sino-U.S. trade tensions, according to Fitch Ratings yesterday.

Huawei could see shipments decline by as much as a quarter this year, according to Fubon Research and Strategy Analytics.

Smartphone shipments at Huawei, the world’s second-largest smartphone maker by volume, could tumble between 4 percent and 24 percent in 2019 if the ban stays put, it predicted.

Fubon Research, which previously forecast Huawei would ship 258 million smartphones in 2019, now expects the company to ship just 200 million in a worst-case scenario.

Huawei commands nearly 30 percent of the European market according to industry tracker IDC, and shipped 208 million phones last year, including half to markets outside China. The company counts Europe as the most important market for its premium smartphones.

Huawei has said it has been developing the technology it needs to be self-sufficient for years.(SD-Agencies)