Chinese tech giant Huawei has been hit with criticism in the United Kingdom after the company pulled apps made by Nike and Adidas from its store, The Times reports.
According to the newspaper, Huawei said the move was in accordance with its "risk handling procedure” after receiving a "significant number of complaints from users," adding that the removal was "temporary."
"It’s never been a secret that Huawei was part of Beijing’s levers of power — it just took some a lot longer to realise it," Tom Tugendhat, Conservative Party MP and co-founder of the China Research Group, said as quoted by the newspaper.
Sam Armstrong at the Henry Jackson Society think tank also alleged that "this goes to show there is no such thing as an independent company in China."
This development comes as Adidas and Nike face backlash from Chinese consumers after making statements about purported use of forced labour in the Xinjiang province.
While Nike told its customers that it "does not source products" from the region, Adidas said it "never manufactured goods" there and has "no contractual relationship with any Xinjiang supplier."
