Unfortunately, companies bearing the China brand these days have few friends in US IT and telecom. They have a long list of grievances.
China’s telecom gear market might be open to foreigners, but the services side market is effectively closed, despite China’s WTO commitments to the contrary.
US firms are increasingly vocal about the protectionism in China’s indigenous innovation program; from local standards like WAPI to the abortive Green Dam filter and the intrusive requirements for government procurement deals.
Google walked out of China after what it said was an attempt by Chinese hackers to steal its company secrets.
The US last month complained to the WTO about Chinese state subsidies to cleantech firms.
And foreign firms continue to receive little protection against software and even hardware piracy in China.
In this environment, politics will trump economics. ZTE and Huawei will need all the lobbyists they can get.