BEIJING, October 12 (TMTPost)— Huawei Technologies Ltd denies news about cutting ties with its major supplier Foxconn.

Credit：Visual China

The recent online news about Huawei’s rejection of Foxconn’s request for its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) are completely rumors, according to a statement posted by Huawei’s official account at Chinese social media Weibo. Such rumors are groundless and can lead to nothing but trouble, the statement said. It called on users and netizens to stop spreading these rumors against Huawei, which are circulated on many online platforms and, and report them without hesitation.

Over the past week, many posts at social media and blog posts swirled the rumor that Huawei declined Foxconn’s request for partnership as its OEM, and settled an agreement with BYD to replace Foxconn with the automaker for smartphone production.The rumor came as Huawei’s latest flagship Mate 60 triggered buying spree and marked the Chinese tech giant’s a 5G comeback following years’ long U.S. sanctions.

Huawei surprisingly launched a presale for Mate 60 Pro priced at RMB6,999 (US$960) on August 29 even though it has not officially released the model. The low-profile presale turned out such a success that the first batch of the phone sold out within hours, igniting fervor for Huawei’s 5G comeback in China. While Huawei didn’t provide details about technical specifications or whether the phone supports the 5G network, Chinese media outlets said online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. Multiple reports attributed Mate 60’s 5G connectivity to Kirin 9000s chipset. Although the network speed test tool displays 4G LTE network, actual test results surpass the theoretical limit of 150Mbps, reaching over 800Mbps, fully meeting 5G network speed standards.

A week after Mate 60 Pro debut, Huawei initiated pre-orders for new models including the Mate X5 and the Mate 60 Pro Plus. Online shoppers can place their orders with a deposit of RMB1,000 for each mobile, and the device is set to be delivered by October 9. Without any prior advertising, sales of new models highlighted strong demand. Huawei started one-time sales for Mate X5 with the starting price of RMB12,999 on September 14. The state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News found the smartphone was sold out within seconds at Huawei online marketplace. 

Huawei was said in September that it officially launched a comprehensive program to return to the smartphone market, buoyed by the best-selling Mate 60 series. The company later that month told the state-backed newspaper Securities Daily that the new mobile will initially focus on domestic market. The paper also learned that Huawei has raised shipment target in the second half of the year for Mate 60 by 20% as sales of the flagship were stronger than the company’s expectation. Huawei was reported to deliver at least 40 million units of new smartphone this year.

Foxconn is hiring more staff and raising wages to make Huawei Mat 60 series, the state-backed newspaper the Global Times reported two weeks ago. Foxcoon is offering higher wages for its production line for Huawei than that for Apple, The report, cited a Foxconn recruitment manager based in Shenzhen. Huawei is also reported to be launching recruitment. The company’s research and development base in Shenzhen is recruiting 2,000 to 3,000 people and most of the openings are making mobiles, the Global Times learned from a recruiter.