The history of Huawei in Italy through the lens of corporate nationality

Abstract

This article aims to provide a historical dimension of the Italian public opinion on Huawei, and vice versa of the Chinese perception of Huawei’s role in Italy. Through a qualitative content analysis, the author examines Italian newspapers framing on Huawei as well as Chinese newspapers framing on the Italian telecommunication market before and after and after the signature of China—Italy memorandum of understanding in 2019. The research provides a periodization of three stages that highlights the evolution of the Chinese company in Italy and examines to what extent its activities can fit within the paradigm of imperialist actions. Based on a historical perspective, this contribution examines the perception of China’s digital infrastructure outside the Chinese borders, while also focusing on policy imaginaries through the corporate nationality theory and analyzing the rhetoric of “nationality” applied to a specific organizational behavior in the aggregation of different communities.