Business
Huawei's Products Should Not Be Linked to Politics
Huawei should not be restricted just because of its leading technology position
  ·  2019-05-27  ·   Source: NO. 22 MAY 30, 2019

Ren Zhengfei, founder and President of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., fields questions from reporters at the company headquarters in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on May 21 (XINHUA)

Huawei is a commercial company with the choice to use its products left to consumers' personal preferences and not to be linked to politics, said Ren Zhengfei, founder and President of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., on May 21.

After the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security put Huawei and its affiliates on its Entity List, restricting the sale or transfer of U.S. technologies to the company, it issued a 90-day temporary license on May 20, which loosened restrictions on business deals with the Chinese telecommunications giant.

The ban has triggered opposition from markets worldwide.

Huawei is lodging a lawsuit against the U.S. Government over previous sanctions and restrictions, Ren told reporters at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.

In response to the temporary license, Ren said what is most important for Huawei is to do its own thing well. "We cannot control what the U.S. Government will do."

Huawei will maintain mass production of specific key components, including chips, so the U.S. ban will not result in negative business growth, Ren said.

The company posted 39 percent year-on-year revenue growth in the first quarter of the year, but the growth slowed to 25 percent in April.

The slowdown will not hurt the company since slower but positive growth has been projected for this year, Ren said.

Huawei has received widespread global support, he said, noting that although Huawei never wants to "walk alone," it has made adequate preparations for any adverse circumstance.

"Huawei was prepared for extreme situations even before the Chinese Lunar New Year," he said.

Ren also indicated that Huawei will not stop buying products from the U.S. supply chain, citing its 2018 announced purchase of 50 million chips from Qualcomm.

"As long as the U.S. Government allows U.S. companies to export components, Huawei will continue to buy them while enhancing its own research and development (R&D)," he said.

The executive also said that he appreciates the support over the years of a large number of U.S. component suppliers, who are currently lobbying for the easing of U.S. Government-imposed restrictions.

Huawei is also in talks with companies like Google to seek potential solutions, he stated.

The U.S. restrictions will have an impact on Huawei's low-end products, but will not affect its high-end products, particularly in the 5G sector, Ren said, adding that rivals will not catch up with Huawei's 5G technology for another two to three years.

Huawei should not be restricted just because of its leading technology position, he remarked.

"Our work is for the benefit of all of humanity," he said, adding that Huawei's 5G equipment would greatly reduce the cost of global telecom network construction.

The company has established dozens of R&D centers around the world and is still keen on taking part in global scientific research, he said.

Even a setback to the company's finances will not affect its spending on R&D, he said, since the firm has thousands of experts in basic research and nearly 70,000 senior engineers.

In response to U.S. questions about Huawei's governance structure, Ren said its ownership structure is transparent and in line with Chinese laws. Moreover, over 80,000 employees recently participated in a vote to elect employee shareholder representatives.

This is an edited excerpt of an article by Xinhua News Agency

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

Comments to dengyaqing@bjreview.com

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