A vendor sells mobile phones at a store in Gaza City, June 9, 2019. Chinese-made smartphones and tablets are gaining popularity in the Gaza Strip, with praise for their advantages and affordable prices as well as local people's desire to defy U.S. sanctions. (Xinhua/Stringer)
Gaza, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese-made smartphones and tablets are gaining popularity in the Gaza Strip, with praise for their advantages and affordable prices as well as local people's desire to defy U.S. sanctions.
A mobile phone shop in Gaza is crowded with customers around the clock, and the demand for Chinese-made smartphones, such as Huawei and Xiaomi, is not stopping.
The United States has announced sanctions against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which restricts U.S. companies from dealing with Huawei.
Rami al-Bilbisi, a 34-year-old resident in Nusairat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, said that he bought a new phone of Xiaomi, another Chinese brand.
He said he wanted to buy a new Chinese-made phone to support the Chinese products especially after the U.S. sanctions.
"I had a Huawei device ... after the U.S. action against the company, I decided to buy another device made by China," he added, noting that Chinese products are distinguished by high quality and low price.
But the reasons why he wanted to support the Chinese products are far beyond the concerns over quality and price.
"We, Palestinians, are oppressed by the U.S. administration, with its continued support for Israel. While China is one of the most important countries supporting the Palestinians, we want to support it," he said.
Likewise, Maisara al-Qishawi, 39, from Gaza City, also prefers Chinese devices, which he considers the best in the world, especially Chinese-made mobile phones.
He said he still insists on buying Chinese devices, because the cost is low and quality is very high, and if their functions are available in other brands, the price will be 30-40 percent higher.
Prices of high-quality Chinese equipment available in the Gaza Strip range from 100 U.S. dollars to 250 dollars.
Jamal Abu Kumil, 39, who owns a smartphone store, said that the demand for Chinese mobile phones is huge compared with other devices in the market, explaining that the main reason is the flexibility in prices, in addition to high quality.
He noted that the U.S. sanctions have caused impacts, and customers wondered whether solutions to this problem can be found, with the possibility of retaining their equipment.
"One of the solutions for now is to adopt older version of hardware programming and maintenance," said software engineer Ahmed Alian.
"A huge company like Huawei won't be terminated, and no doubt it is able to regain its strength and activity in the near future," Alian added.
