Huawei Reportedly Turns to Beef Imports Amid Payment Challenges in Argentina

Speculation has surfaced that Huawei, the Chinese electronics giant facing international sanctions, has unexpectedly become China’s largest beef importer. This development comes as Huawei’s Argentinian clients have reportedly begun compensating for telecom equipment with beef due to currency acquisition challenges, rather than traditional cash payments.

While Huawei has not confirmed these reports, and there has been no official comment from Chinese state media outlets like Xinhua News Agency, Phoenix TV has released a video claiming that Huawei now leads beef imports in China.

Notably, Huawei is recognized for its diverse business operations beyond its core technology endeavors. A 2019 Reuters report highlighted that Huawei operates several subsidiary businesses unrelated to telecoms, catering primarily to its employees and large corporate clients. One such enterprise is Shanghai Mossel Trade Co., a firm dealing in imported foods and wine, overseen by Ren Ping, the son of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is also noted as being associated with Mossel.

Further investigation reveals that Huawei’s pivot towards accepting beef as payment began when an Argentinian client, unable to secure sufficient U.S. dollars or Chinese yuan, compensated with beef and wine for cellular parts and equipment. The practice has seemingly grown following the U.S. interest rate hike in 2022, which strained the foreign exchange resources of smaller nations. Moreover, the situation was exacerbated in December 2023 when China suspended its currency swap agreement with Argentina, making it even more difficult for companies in Argentina to obtain foreign currencies needed for international transactions.

With the Argentinian peso devalued by inflation, Huawei found itself accepting beef as a more stable form of payment over the rapidly depreciating local currency, navigating the complexities of international trade and finance amid ongoing economic pressures.

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