A Huawei executive says the Chinese firm will keep on developing devices running on Windows Phone, apparently not fazed that Microsoft will be both a hardware and software supplier on the OS platform following its purchase of Nokia’s Devices & Services unit.

“We remain one of Microsoft’s strategic partners,” said Richard Ren – quoted by The Wall Street Journal – who heads up the company’s consumer unit in Europe.

Huawei, along with Nokia, Samsung and HTC, all manufacture devices using Windows Phone. Of those, only Nokia is solely reliant on Windows Phone – the other three device manufacturers place greater focus on the rival Android operating system.

There has been some analyst speculation that Microsoft’s Nokia deal could give it an advantage over other Windows Phone manufacturers, not least in getting new devices out the door faster than its rivals.

Microsoft executive VP Terry Myerson, in a blog shortly after the Nokia acquisition was announced, nonetheless maintained that the software giant could both compete with and serve device makers as customers.

“We have exciting ideas, and so do our OEM partners,” he said. “Our partners bring innovation, diversity and scale to Windows. I’m always thrilled by the beautiful new device designs our partners are continually bringing to market.”

There are of, course, other examples of device manufacturers having to compete directly with software suppliers who have started to ship out their own devices. Microsoft’s Surface tablet is one such case, as is Google-owned Motorola in the Android OS space.