Huawei may have been preparing to sidestep Google through its own app store.
Huawei apparently sought out partners last year to fill up its app store.
The embattled Chinese phone maker tempted app makers with the prospect of getting a foothold in its home market, the most populous country in the world, if they would create software for its App Gallery.
Huawei reportedly told the app makers that they'd reach the massive China market, as well as 50 million Europeans who could end up using its app store rather than Google's Play Store (which Huawei's phones use to download apps outside China) by the end of last year.
It even offered the app makers a simple way to make the software they developed for Google's Play Store compatible with the App Gallery. The effort may have been part of a Huawei backup plan in case the US government eventually clamped down on the company and cut it off from working with US companies, which is happening right now.
Huawei didn't comment but highlighted in an emailed statement its "substantial contributions" to the global growth of Google's Android operating system.
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