Huawei is doing ‘even better’

When the entity list came out, they hoped Huawei would die: Founder

Shenzhen, Sept. 17: Long before Donald Trump threatened to cut off Huawei's access to US technology, the Chinese telecom equipment maker was pouring money into research that reduces its need for US suppliers.

Huawei’s founder says instead of crippling the company, the export curbs are making it a tougher competitor by forcing managers to focus resources on their most important products.

Little-known to Americans, Huawei is the No 2 smartphone brand worldwide and the biggest maker of switching gear at the heart of phone networks. Its equipment is used by 45 of the 50 biggest global phone carriers.

Huawei is a pioneer in the emerging field of nextgeneration, or 5G, telecoms. It promises not just faster internet but support for self-driving cars and other futuristic applications. That fuels Western security concerns and makes 5G politically sensitive. The US claims the company might aid Chinese spying, though Huawei denies that and American officials have provided no evidence.

Huawei needs some American innovations, especially Google services available on Android phones, but industry experts say the company is increasingly self-sufficient after spending $65 billion on R&D over the past decade. “They have a strategy to become completely independent from US technology. And in many areas they have become independent,” said Bengt Nordstrom of North Stream, a research firm in Stockholm.

Ren Zhengfei, who founded the company in 1987, acknowledged in an interview that phone sales will suffer if access to technology, including Google services for smartphones, is disrupted by the addition of Huawei to a US Commerce Department “entity list” that requires it to get government permission to buy American technology.

“When the entity list came out, they hoped Huawei would die,” Ren said. “Not only did Huawei not die, it is doing even better.”