Huawei Photo:IC

If the US government arbitrarily alters the rules of the market, the Chinese government will not sit idle and watch Huawei to be put on the chopping board, which will most likely take countermeasures against US firms, a Huawei executive told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Even if the US coerces TSMC to stop supplying Huawei, the Chinese technology company still has many other choices for chip supply - such as partnering with companies in South Korea, the island of Taiwan, and companies in the Chinese mainland like Samsung, MediaTek, and Unisoc, said Huawei Rotating Chairman Eric Xu. 

The comments, which were made during the release of Huawei's annual financial report, also come as the US government is mulling new restrictions on the Chinese technology giant. 

After putting Huawei on a trade blacklist in May last year, Washington is reportedly moving ahead with new restrictions to cut off Huawei's supply chain by requiring foreign companies that use US equipment to obtain a license before shipping their products to the Chinese company. 

 A source in a Reuters report was quoted as saying the rule change is aimed at curbing sales of chipsets to Huawei by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, a major supplier for Huawei's chipset unit HiSilicon.

"If the US government arbitrarily changes the rules of the market, it is indeed harming a global technology ecosystem," Xu said,noting that if the Chinese government takes similar countermeasures, the impact will be devastating and disruptive.

"By then, the ones that die may not be just Huawei, " Xu added.