A timely account of the Chinese tech giant’s rise illuminates the impact of geopolitical rivalry on business
Eva Dou’s House of Huawei is a compelling and timely exploration of China’s most controversial tech giant. It offers a rare glimpse inside a secretive company that has come to symbolize both the ambitions of a rising superpower and the anxieties of a fracturing global order. Huawei’s rise – from a modest maker of electronic switches in 1987 to a global force in telecoms, handsets, subsea infrastructure and cloud computing – mirrors China’s economic transformation.
At the heart of this story is Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei. A talented engineer, Ren embodies many qualities familiar to followers of American tech: technical brilliance, relentless drive and a near-messianic belief in his mission. Yet where Silicon Valley celebrates the cult of personality, Ren cultivates modesty and obscurity. His ethos, forged in China’s military and shaped by patriotic duty, favors discipline over celebrity, and loyalty over disruption.
Dou effectively contrasts Huawei’s trajectory with that of the Western tech giants, particularly in the US. Both ecosystems rely on ambitious founders, vast internal markets, and close ties to state power – whether via the Pentagon or the Communist Party. But their political contexts differ sharply. US firms may lobby or challenge the government; Chinese companies, however powerful, remain subservient to the state. Huawei exemplifies this dynamic, reshaping its internal structures to align with shifting government priorities, and advancing not just corporate success but national strategy.
One of the book’s most valuable contributions is its portrayal of Huawei as a product of its environment. In its early years, the legal and regulatory vacuum of post-reform China favored boldness over caution; Huawei thrived in this frontier-like setting. Over time, it evolved into a formidable R&D force, no longer dependent on Western tech but increasingly capable of innovation on its own terms.
The book also highlights aspects of Huawei’s internal culture that may surprise Western readers – notably, the prominent role of women in its senior leadership, and a strong emphasis on collective identity. Ren’s belief in “wolf warrior” toughness and personal sacrifice has shaped a company that prizes endurance, cohesion, and long-term thinking.
There have been controversies, though. Dou addresses accusations of sanctions-busting, complicity in human rights violations (such as racial profiling of Uyghurs), intellectual property theft, and espionage. These charges have led to bans in Western markets and exclusion from 5G infrastructure projects; the loss of access to US technologies was a major blow.
But Dou is also critical of the West. The Snowden leaks revealed that the US had hacked Huawei’s servers years before concerns about Chinese spying reached fever pitch. The detention of Ren’s daughter Meng Wanzhou in Canada – at the request of US authorities – was matched by China’s retaliatory arrest of two Canadians. As Dou notes, both Washington and Beijing play dirty.
Where the book falls short is in its treatment of Huawei’s winning strategy. Dou gives limited attention to the business model innovations, decentralized R&D structure and long-term investment in hard tech that enabled Huawei to outpace competitors like Cisco. Readers looking for insight into how Huawei succeeded – not just how it survived political scrutiny – may find this a missed opportunity.
Nonetheless, House of Huawei is a balanced, accessible and richly reported account of a company that sits at the nexus of technology, geopolitics and ideology. For business leaders, strategists, and policymakers, this is essential reading. As Dou makes clear, the battle over networks and infrastructure is not just about technology – it’s about power. And Huawei, whether threat or triumph, remains central to that story.
Piers Cain is a management consultant
