To navigate the geopolitical storm, the firm offered six-figure salaries to former Western journalists and politicians with direct lines to places of power like the Elysée and Westminster.
In the past two years Huawei has lost much of its clout in Brussels, as the mood against Chinese tech firms turned and European governments aligned on taking a more cautious approach to using Huawei’s 5G equipment in their networks. At the EU level, the European Commission in 2023 announced moves to block it and ZTE from EU research funding and to stop contracting operators using Chinese equipment.
The firm’s Brussels office also saw departures by lobbyists and communications officials.
According to EU transparency register data, Huawei Technologies spent between €2 million and €2.25 million on EU lobbying in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — a lot, but still below its lobbying costs in preceding years, which were estimated at around €3 million in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Huawei in October declared it had 11 full-time EU lobbyists, nine of whom were accredited to access the European Parliament. At its peak it declared 21.
Huawei also listed as intermediaries Acento Public Affairs, Hill & Knowlton International Belgium, and MUST & Partners. Acento and Alber & Geiger also served as Huawei’s intermediaries the year before, with Huawei declaring representation costs of €200,000 and €600,000, respectively.
