Huawei CEO addresses US ban, 5G and users' rights

By Ma Si | China Daily Updated: May 21, 2019

Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, at an interview with the media in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, May 21, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Highlights of remarks by Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei

The US government's 90-day extension "doesn't mean much".

We can make chips as good as those made by US companies, but it does not mean that we will not buy chips from them.

Huawei's 5G plan will not be affected by the US ban.

Don't fan nationalist sentiment.

Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, said on Tuesday that the US government's 90-day extension "doesn't mean much", adding that the company was ready to deal with the ban.

Ren's comments came after the US Commerce Department said on Monday that it gave Huawei a 90-day license to purchase US technologies to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets. That marks a delay of the ban on US technology exports to Huawei.

A crew hangs a Huawei advertising banner on the side of the Las Vegas Convention Center as workers prepare for the 2018 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan 5, 2018. [Photo / Agencies]

Ren said in an interview with Chinese media in Shenzhen on Tuesday that "We are very grateful to the US companies. They have made a lot of contributions to us. Many of our consultants are from American companies such as IBM.

"We can make chips as good as those made by US companies, but it does not mean that we will not buy chips from them," Ren added.

He said the company will not exclude US chips. "Instead, we should grow together. But if there is a supply shortage, we have a backup. In the "peace period", half of our chips are from the US companies and half from Huawei. We cannot be isolated from the world."

A staff member uses a laptop computer at a display for 5G wireless technology from Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing on Nov 28, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Ren also highlighted that Huawei's 5G plan will not be affected by the US ban. "Others will definitely not be able to catch up with Huawei in 5G technologies for two or three years," he said.

Ren said Europe maintains close communications with Huawei and some features of 5G are very suitable for the rollout of the superfast technology in Europe. For instance, 5G capacity is 20 times that of 4G, and its power consumption 10 times less. "We also use materials that will not corrode for decades, and these characteristics are very suitable for Europe."

Ren said the US technologies are still worth learning in both their depth and width. Many small US companies have super-precision products.

"But in our business (5G), Huawei is at the forefront, though when it comes to comparison between countries, we are still far behind the United States,"Ren added.

"We will not go through an extreme shortage of supplies. We have made sound preparations," Ren said, adding that the company's employees are working overtime to prepare for such situations.

A man uses his phone as he walks past a Huawei shop in Beijing, Dec19, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

Ren said the current difficulties can spur China to develop the electronics industry in a down-to-earth manner. Pouring in money is not enough to develop the semiconductor industry. Instead, talent, including mathematicians and physicists, is needed to grow the chip sector.

"Global talent is also needed. It is very difficult to rely solely on China's independent innovation to succeed. Why can't we embrace the world and rely on global innovation?" Ren added.

A Huawei P30 Series smartphone is on display at a Huawei store in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, April 13, 2019. [Photo/IC]

"Don't fan nationalist sentiment," Ren also warned. Currently, the attitudes toward Huawei are divided into two groups. One represents the genuine patriots who support Huawei, while the other believes that Huawei has kidnapped the patriotic feelings of the entire society.

"We should stop others from shouting empty slogans and inciting nationalist sentiment," Ren said.

Photo shows the logos of Huawei and Google, file photo. [Photo/IC]

US scales back restrictions on Huawei

The US Commerce Department will allow Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to purchase American-made goods in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets.

The roll back is in effect for 90 days.

The Logo of Huawei is seen at its showroom in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, March 29, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

Huawei vows to protect its users' rights

Beijing backs company's stance after Google confirms access restrictions

Huawei Technologies Co said on Monday that it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services for all its smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are in stock globally.

The announcement came after Google announced on Monday that it has restricted Huawei's access to updates of its Android operating system and some mobile services in compliance with US government curbs on the Chinese tech company.

Huawei said in a statement that "as one of Android's key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefited both users and the industry.

"We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally," the company said.

Responding to Google's partial suspension of its business with Huawei, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday: "We will keep a close eye on the issue. China supports Chinese enterprises' defense of their legitimate rights through legal means."

Google's move was made in compliance with the order issued by the US Commerce Department that banned Huawei from buying any US technologies without special government approval. The US claims that Huawei poses risks to its national security, an accusation that Huawei said was unfounded.

Google said the next version of Huawei's smartphones outside China would lose access to popular applications and services including the Google Play store and the Gmail app, but Google Play and security features of Google Play Protect would continue on existing Huawei devices.

Huawei devices can also access the version of the Android operating system available through the open source license that is free to anyone who wishes to use it, Google added.

Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance, an association of Chinese smartphone vendors, said the move will have a limited impact on Huawei's current smartphone users, but added that "it will pose a challenge to Huawei's overseas smartphone business if the issue cannot be properly addressed in time".

"Moreover, the move gives global smartphone vendors a warning that they must have alternatives to the Android operating system, which may threaten Google's dominance in the area," Wang added.

As the world's second-largest smartphone vendor, Huawei shipped more than 200 million handsets globally last year, with half of those destined for overseas markets.

In March, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, said the company had prepared a self-developed mobile operating system to deal with such a worst-case scenario.

In addition to the software challenge posed by Google, US chipmakers including Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp are also said to have stopped supplying products to Huawei, Bloomberg reported. The companies' representatives did not immediately comment on the report.

Jia Mo, an analyst at Singapore-based market research company Canalys, said the US ban could hurt US companies that increasingly rely on the China market for growth.

Some US semiconductor companies, like Qorvo, get up to about 10 percent of their revenue from Huawei, according to a report by financial services company Credit Suisse.

Zhou Jin contributed to this story.