Huawei. Photo: Deng Zijun/GT

As Huawei's smartphone market share in the EU has shrunk amid pressure from the US government, many other Chinese smartphone makers including Xiaomi and OPPO are racing to fill the gap by actively expending their business in the market, the Global Times learned on Thursday.

According to Canalys, a smartphone statistics company, Huawei's market share in the EU smartphone market contracted to 17 percent in the second quarter this year, a 17 percent decrease year-on-year, while Xiaomi, a relatively new entrant to the EU market, has seen a huge increase in shipments in the second quarter, surpassing Huawei as the third-largest smartphone provider in the market.

Xiaomi's co-founder and CEO Lei Jun said Thursday on social media platform Weibo that the company has been working hard to target the EU market. And as a result, Xiaomi's market share increased to 17 percent as shipments to the EU increased 65 percent year-on-year.

Amid the US pressure, Huawei dropped to fourth place on the list after Xiaomi, even though Huawei is still No. 1 for smartphone shipments worldwide.

In addition to Xiaomi's shining performance, OPPO, another Chinese smartphone maker, has also made progress in the EU market. According to a document sent to the Global Times by the company, OPPO on Wednesday opened its first store in Hamburg displaying the company's whole product line.

"Germany, one of the largest smartphone markets in Europe, is very important to us, and this move shows our confidence in the EU market," said Maggie, head of the company's West Europe region.   

According to OPPO, since it entered the German market in February, it now has more than 100 employees engaged in market development, service and marketing.

Global Times