The latest figures from market analysts Canalys have quantified a trend that many of us might have sensed in 2018: the rise of the Chinese phone in Europe. The year saw huge flagship launch events in Paris hosted by Huawei and Oppo, accompanied by Xiaomi’s gradual expansion into more countries across the continent and OnePlus’ enduring popularity. Canalys says that 32 percent, or roughly one-third, of smartphone shipments in Europe in 2018 were from Chinese manufacturers, with Huawei taking the lion’s share of that with more than 23 percent of the overall market in the final months of the year.
Huawei has been the subject of open hostility from US intelligence agencies, and 2018 was a year when the company’s ambitions to...
