NEW YORK -- Huawei Technologies Co has achieved its goal of becoming the world's top seller of smartphones, at least in the second quarter of this year, fueled by the rapid economic recovery in its home market of China, according to research firm Canalys.

"A years-long slump in the global smartphone market -- as a lack of innovation leads people to hang on to their old models longer -- has thinned the ranks of sellers, and the coronavirus pandemic has further damped demand. The second quarter was the first time in nine years that neither Apple Inc nor Samsung Electronics Co was No 1," Canalys was quoted by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as saying on Friday.

According to the firm's analysis, "the Chinese telecom giant has grown more reliant than ever on its home market since US restrictions curbing its access to Google software made its phones less appealing to users in Europe and other overseas markets. But that worked in Huawei's favor in the second quarter, as China's economy rebounded after the country aggressively tackled the coronavirus pandemic."

"Our business has demonstrated exceptional resilience in these difficult times," the WSJ quoted a Huawei spokesman as saying.

Nearly three-fourths of the Huawei smartphones sold in the second quarter were sold in China, compared with 64 percent a year earlier, according to Canalys.

Since 1998, Canalys has grown to become well-known for its research in technology channels and smartphones," according to the research firm's introduction on LinkedIn.