Chinese phone maker Huawei is developing its own operating system for mobiles and computers in case access to Apple or Android software is cut off in the future.

Richard Yu Chengdong, Huawei's consumer group chief, said Thursday the tech company has already developed a proprietary operating system for Huawei devices. He said the new system would be used by Huawei computers and cellphones if China-U.S. trade tensions prevent the company from using U.S.-developed software in the future.

"We have prepared our own operating system," he told Germany's Die Welt. "Should it ever happen that we can no longer use these [U.S.] systems, we would be prepared. That's our plan B. But of course we prefer to work with the ecosystems of Google and Microsoft."

Huawei is currently banned from entering the U.S. cellphone market, and last week announced a lawsuit that seeks to dismiss a ban on selling products to agencies in the United States.

The U.S. authorities also claim that ZTE has violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea, which led to a ban on the sale of U.S. parts and software to the Chinese company.

Google’s Android and Apple’s proprietary iOS have a stranglehold on smartphone operating systems, accounting for 99.9 per cent of the global market, according to Gartner estimates last year.

Huawei, currently the largest smartphone brand in China and engaged in a fierce battle with Apple for second spot in terms of global smartphone shipments, equips all its smartphones with the popular Android system, owned by Google, and its laptop products with Windows OS.