FILE PHOTO: Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei walks inside Huawei's headquarters in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in this October 16, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg bloom.bg/2HT7DUY that retaliation by Beijing against Apple Inc was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move from China against the iPhone maker.

When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would “protest” against any such step if it were to be taken by Beijing.

“That (Chinese retaliation against Apple) will not happen first of all and second of all, if that happens, I’ll be the first to protest,” Ren said in the interview with Bloomberg.

He conceded that export curbs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will cut into a two-year lead built by Huawei over its competitors, but added that the company will either ramp up its chip supply or find alternatives to stay ahead in smartphones and 5G.