Chinese businesses of all stripes are turning to Huawei

Huawei is extending its enterprise business into industries such as mining, using a combination of 5G, autonomous driving, operating systems and cloud AI. At the Yimin mine, its technology supports a fleet of driverless 90-tonne lorries and is expected to reduce the need for people in the pit. The division matters more as sanctions and Western restrictions have squeezed foreign sales and consumer margins, although its mining unit reports very thin margins. The Economist sees China’s push for real-world AI applications as an opportunity for Huawei to find domestic growth.