Huawei turns to mobile chip rivals to beat US pressure. Chinese tech giant's position in the global smartphone market at risk

Huawei Technologies is seeking help from rival mobile-chip makers to withstand a U.S. clampdown aimed at crippling the Chinese company, sources familiar with the matter told the Nikkei Asian Review.

Huawei is in talks with MediaTek, the world's second-largest mobile chip developer after Qualcomm of the U.S., and UNISOC, China's second-largest mobile chip designer after Huawei's HiSilicon Technologies unit, to buy more chips as alternatives to keep its consumer electronics business afloat, the sources said.

Developing its own cutting-edge chips has been a key strategy for Huawei, helping China's biggest tech company and the world's second-largest smartphone maker stand out in the global market for handsets and other devices. Analysts and industry executives say that adopting rivals' chip offerings could hamper Huawei's competitiveness.