Huawei plans to open 3rd R&D center in Russia in 2018
While some Western countries are turning their backs on Chinese telecoms equipment providers such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, Russia welcomes more investment from Chinese companies in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, which is in line with Moscow’s ambition to build a digital society.
Huawei Russia is considering opening a new research and development (R&D) center in Russia, which would be the third in the country after the Moscow and St. Petersburg R&D centers, Huawei Vice President Amy Lin told the Global Times on Tuesday during the 4th Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, a city in the Russian Far East.
“We value long-term development in overseas markets, not only in terms of providing products and services, but also in cooperation with local small start-up companies, and contributions to locally based research and education programs,” Lin said, noting that with 21 years of operations in Russia, Huawei considers itself a local company.
The location of this new center is not decided yet, she said.
In August, the US banned government personnel from using Huawei and Australia barred the company from providing equipment to support the country’s new telecommunications networks.
“The company, as a global ICT equipment provider, doesn’t only focus on one single market,” said Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry news site cctime.com.
“In the Russian market, Chinese companies face fewer obstacles in the ideological sphere compared with other Western countries,” he said.
The partnership between Russian local telecom services provider Rostelecom and Chinese companies has a long history of mutually beneficial cooperation, Andrey Polyakov, a PR representative of the Russian company, told the Global Times.
Both sides aim to intensify work in the field of data transmission services and the introduction of more advanced technological solutions, systems and products for use in the telecommunications network of Rostele
lecom, Polyakov noted. When operators in Europe, the US nd China are bringing forward 5G ans, Russia still lags behind. “The most advanced technologies e not always necessarily the most eeded ones,” Lin said, noting that e most important thing when it mes to 5G is not merely the techology itself but also successful 5G pplications and the real needs of ubscribers. Unlike China, Russia will see more hallenges in carrying out large-scale G plans considering its widely disersed population and remote areas, ang noted. Still, the country could start trials in me major cities, as it needs to meet owing demand for ICT upgrading nd improve industrial efficiency, he id. The Chinese telecoms services ovider holds an open attitude about orking on 5G development in Rusa, according to Huawei Russia.