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SHENZHEN, China – Washington blacklisted Huawei in May, accusing the Chinese tech giant of using its devices and networks to spy on Western nations. Rudaw traveled to China’s tech capital of Shenzhen to ask how the firm will weather the storm.
Founded by Ren Zhengfei in 1987, Huawei is considered one of the fastest growing telecommunications firms in the world, second only to America’s Apple, selling consumer electronics including smartphones across the globe.
However, the US banned the sale of Huawei products in May, citing cybersecurity concerns. The US even warned its allies not to accept Huawei’s offer to construct state-of-the-art 5G networks on the grounds that China would have “backdoor” access to spy on them.
Australia and New Zealand have blocked their local firms from using Huawei to build their 5G networks. The UK and Canada may join them.
The controversy deepened when Google announced it would end its Android support for Huawei devices.
Huawei denies its devices are being used by the Chinese government to spy on Western countries. Its founder and CEO Zhengfei said in mid-June the firm’s revenues will be $30 billion lower than expected over the next two years due to the US ban on its products.
Huawei is optimistic it will rebound in the long run, however. It warns the ban will limit Western access to new, state-of-the-art technology, and risks creating a world split along technological lines.
Joe Kelly, vice president of international media affairs, told Rudaw that Huawei anticipated the move and has taken action to protect its business and customers.
“The most important thing we can do is to keep innovating and keep meeting the needs of our customers. That’s been our strategy for 32 years. That will be our strategy going forward,” Kelly said, speaking to Rudaw at the firm’s Shenzhen exhibition centre.
“At the same time, one of the challenges we have at the moment is the US government is stopping us from buying technology from the US. This is an action that we anticipated, so we have taken some earlier actions to minimize the impact on our business.”
“We’ll have to see how that plays out. But for now we are confident in our future.”
Kelly said the firm had revenues of more than $100 million last year, but only a fraction of this was generated in the US.
“Losing access to the market in the US to sell commercially, financially, is not a big problem for Huawei,” he said. “We think it’s a problem for America, because they don’t get our innovation, they have to pay higher prices, so we think it’s bad for American customers.”
Huawei has not been dependent on any single country or any single supplier for its components for many years, Kelly explained. Of the $70 billion it spent on components last year, just $11 billion-worth came from the US.
Transitioning to new supply lines, platforms, and markets will not be straightforward, however.
“Will the process be easy and smooth? No, because it’s a geopolitical battle. But Huawei is confident that we can continue supporting our customers,” Kelly said.
Founded by Ren Zhengfei in 1987, Huawei is considered one of the fastest growing telecommunications firms in the world, second only to America’s Apple, selling consumer electronics including smartphones across the globe.
However, the US banned the sale of Huawei products in May, citing cybersecurity concerns. The US even warned its allies not to accept Huawei’s offer to construct state-of-the-art 5G networks on the grounds that China would have “backdoor” access to spy on them.
Australia and New Zealand have blocked their local firms from using Huawei to build their 5G networks. The UK and Canada may join them.
The controversy deepened when Google announced it would end its Android support for Huawei devices.
Huawei denies its devices are being used by the Chinese government to spy on Western countries. Its founder and CEO Zhengfei said in mid-June the firm’s revenues will be $30 billion lower than expected over the next two years due to the US ban on its products.
Huawei is optimistic it will rebound in the long run, however. It warns the ban will limit Western access to new, state-of-the-art technology, and risks creating a world split along technological lines.
Joe Kelly, vice president of international media affairs, told Rudaw that Huawei anticipated the move and has taken action to protect its business and customers.
“The most important thing we can do is to keep innovating and keep meeting the needs of our customers. That’s been our strategy for 32 years. That will be our strategy going forward,” Kelly said, speaking to Rudaw at the firm’s Shenzhen exhibition centre.
“At the same time, one of the challenges we have at the moment is the US government is stopping us from buying technology from the US. This is an action that we anticipated, so we have taken some earlier actions to minimize the impact on our business.”
“We’ll have to see how that plays out. But for now we are confident in our future.”
Kelly said the firm had revenues of more than $100 million last year, but only a fraction of this was generated in the US.
“Losing access to the market in the US to sell commercially, financially, is not a big problem for Huawei,” he said. “We think it’s a problem for America, because they don’t get our innovation, they have to pay higher prices, so we think it’s bad for American customers.”
Huawei has not been dependent on any single country or any single supplier for its components for many years, Kelly explained. Of the $70 billion it spent on components last year, just $11 billion-worth came from the US.
Transitioning to new supply lines, platforms, and markets will not be straightforward, however.
“Will the process be easy and smooth? No, because it’s a geopolitical battle. But Huawei is confident that we can continue supporting our customers,” Kelly said.
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