Huawei founder Mr. Ren Zhengfei has reiterated that the company is in a strong position to move ahead despite recent political actions in the United States.
- “To us, the most important thing is to do our job well”
- “Our relationships with US companies won’t be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government”
- “Our company will not end up with an extreme supply shortage. We have got well prepared”
In
his latest meeting with the media, Huawei founder Mr. Ren Zhengfei has
reiterated that the company is in a strong position to move ahead despite
recent political actions in the United States.
Addressing
questions about the impact of the White House’s recent executive order, Ren
noted: “What the US will do is out of our control. To us, the most important
thing is to do our job well. I would like to take this opportunity to express
my gratitude to the US companies that we work with. Over these 30 years, they
have helped us to grow into what we are today. They have made many
contributions to us. As you know, most of the companies that provide consulting
services to Huawei are based in the US, including dozens of companies like IBM
and Accenture. In the face of the recent crisis, I can feel these companies’ sense
of justice and sympathy towards us.”
The
Huawei founder then went into greater detail about its relationships with US
companies. “The US is a country ruled by law. US companies must abide by the
laws, and so must the real economy. The media should understand that these US
companies and Huawei share the same fate. We are both players in the market
economy. Our close relationships with US
companies are the result of several decades of effort on both sides. These
relationships won’t be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government.”
The supply of products to Huawei from international
partners was also discussed. “Our
company will not end up with an extreme supply shortage. We have got well
prepared. Even if there is an insufficient
supply from our partners, we will face no problems. This is because we can
manufacture all the high-end chips we need ourselves,” said Ren.
As long as these
companies can obtain approval from Washington, Ren commented that Huawei will
continue to buy in large volumes from them. “It may be the case that they
cannot obtain approval quickly. We have ways to go through this transition
period. Once approval is granted, we will maintain our normal trade with these
US companies and work together to build an information society for humanity. We
don’t want to work alone.”
In an answer to a direct question about why the US is
targeting Huawei, Ren responded: “I
don’t know exactly what [those US] politicians are thinking. I think we should
not be the target of US-led campaigns just because we are ahead of the US.”
The
Huawei founder also responded to questions about overall disruptions to the
international ICT market. “Europe will not follow in the footsteps of the US,
and the majority of US companies are communicating closely with us. We will
certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our mass production
capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List won’t have a huge impact
on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide.”
With
regards to Huawei’s own business outlook for 2019, Ren added: “Our growth will
slow down, though not by as much as everyone imagines. In the first quarter of
this year, our revenue grew 39% over the same period last year. This rate
decreased to 25% in April, and may continue decreasing towards the end of this
year. But the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development
of our industry.”
In
sectors where Huawei have the most advanced technologies, at least in the 5G
sector, Ren added that there “won’t be much impact”. Not just that, but Huawei
competitors won’t be able to catch up with it within two to three years.
5G standards are widely considered to have a huge impact
on society, added Ren. The company appears to be well prepared for the future
in terms of technology innovation and R&D. Huawei has 26 centers of
expertise for R&D globally, over 700 mathematicians, 800 physicists, and
120 chemists working at Huawei, according to Ren. He further noted that Huawei
have the most 5G standard-essential patents in the world – about 27% of the
total.
“We have an Institute of Strategic Research, which
provides a large amount of funding to well-known professors at top universities
around the world. We don’t expect return on this investment. The way we sponsor
research is similar to how investment works according to the US
Bayh-Dole
Act. It’s the universities that benefit from the investment. By doing so,
we will work with more scientists researching technologies at different
stages,” says Ren.
As for its three business groups, when asked about where
revenue will come from over the long term, Ren doesn’t take the view that the
most profitable one is necessarily the most important. “Only the department
that is responsible for building network connections will be able to become
number one in the world. It is the very department that has come under attacks
from the US. I have compared it to a badly damaged aircraft. Actually, we have
realized that this department does not face as many difficulties as others
because it has been preparing for a long time. Our 5G, optical transmission,
and core network technologies are free from the pressure that is being put on
this department, and these technologies will be the world leaders for many
years to come.”
In addressing its latest reputational
challenges, Ren concluded that: “We do not seek to solve our reputation issues
outside of China through media campaigns. I think we will ultimately need to
solve these issues by providing excellent services to our customers. We are
very advanced, and our customers will realize this if they start using our
services.”
