Huawei orders $6bn worth of US hardware

Chinese networking giant Huawei plans to give contracts totalling $6bn (£3.8bn) to US mobile technology companies Qualcomm, Broadcom and Avago.

The multibillion-dollar hardware deals were announced by Huawei on Saturday. The company has historically had to fend off perceptions that it is linked to the Chinese military, and has faced a tough climate in the US with legislators blocking it from bidding on core infrastructure projects.

"This procurement agreement reaffirms Huawei's determination to deliver on its promise to be a local economy contributor, and is a demonstration of confidence in the long-term relationships we have cultivated with our local high-tech partners," Chen Lifang, a senior corporate vice president for Huawei, said in a statement.

The contracts will run for three years. Huawei did not give further details of how the money would be allocated or spent.

Qualcomm is known mainly for its mobile technologies, and in a statement an executive hinted that Huawei would spend its money on the company's broadband and Snapdragon processors.

Avago makes application-specific integrated circuits and other semiconductors. In Huawei's statement, an Avago executive highlighted Avago's cellular infrastructure equipment, but stopped short of saying this was the object of Huawei's interest.

Huawei sells a range of smartphones and tablets, and has been considering whether it should sell handsets based on Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.

The company has faced the same problems in the UK, but has allayed concerns by setting up a testing laboratory for its equipment overseen by local intelligence agency GCHQ.