China's Huawei looks to build global smartphone brand

To do that, Huawei must succeed in the United States the second- largest market for handsets after China, accounting for one-sixth of global sales, according to industry analysts.

The company headquartered on a leafy campus in this southern Chinese tech hub adjacent to Hong Kong beat Apple and Samsung to market with a camera equipped with side-by-side lenses, one in black and white and one in color, that it says produces clearer images.

The U.S. market for Huawei's network gear evaporated in 2012 after a congressional panel deemed Huawei and Chinese rival ZTE Corp. potential security threats and recommended Americans avoid doing business with them.

The company is privately held but has begun releasing financial results in hopes increased transparency will ease Western security concerns.

Founded in 1987 by a former military engineer, Huawei became the first Chinese supplier to break into the top ranks of a technology industry, where it competes with Nokia Corp. and Sweden's LM Ericsson in network gear and wireless base stations.

Huawei's priority this year is a marketing campaign to "address the No. 1 issue that many people don't know the company — especially in Western countries," said Glory Cheung, president of marketing for its Consumer Business Group.

Huawei's venture into consumer devices follows the trail blazed by Nokia Corp. in the 1980s when the Finnish switching equipment maker started selling mobile phones.

Nokia's disappearance shows the market "can change massively" if a leader makes a mistake, though overtaking Apple or Samsung would be a "highly aggressive target," Peng said.