Last year we saw Huawei lose access to Google apps and services for its Android phones due to a U.S. government trade ban, forcing it to begin using its own replacements. Now that the company is firmly relying on its own services and app store on its phones, it says that it wouldn't switch back.
Fred Wangfei, Huawei country manager for Austria, said during a press briefing that even if the U.S. ban on Huawei was lifted and it were able to use Google's Android apps and services, it would stick with its own services. According to Der Standard (via WinFuture), this is because Huawei doesn't want to get caught in another trade ban.
Wangfei added that Huawei doesn't want to depend on the U.S. and that if the trade ban against it is lifted, that doesn't mean that it won't be enacted again in the future.
Huawei's goal is to create a third mobile ecosystem alongside Android and iOS. The company knows that this is a tall task, and so it wants to stick as close to possible to the plain, open source version of Android to make things easier for developers.
Huawei has invested quite a bit of money and effort into its App Gallery and Huawei Mobile Services, with plans to spend billions this year on development and marketing. Because of this and Huawei's desire to keep growing its own ecosystem, it makes sense that the company would voice its commitment to its own services, especially as a way signal its dedication for anyone interested in developing for Huawei. That said, it's tough to believe that if Huawei had the chance, it would turn down Google's apps and services because they're so widely known and used.
