Huawei’s operations expand global reach
Vote of faith won in India, as business remains on track in Germany, France
Even though it faces security allegations in several developed markets, Chinese technology major Huawei said on Wednesday that its global operations remain stable, with businesses in Germany running normally and its involvement in 5G construction by French telecom operators remaining active.
The comment came shortly after Huawei won a vote of faith in India, which had invited the Shenzhenbased company to conduct local 5G trials.
Analysts said the Indian government invitation and foreign companies’ willingness to use Huawei’s products highlight the trustworthiness of the company and provide a testament to Huawei’s technological prowess.
In an internal statement to employees on Wednesday, Huawei said that in addition to business in Germany and France, the company is also replying to Japanese operators’ 5G bid and actively participating in local 5G trials.
Though the New Zealand government has not approved a 5G proposal submitted by a local operator that is a Huawei partner, the regulatory process has not finished and local customers said they will continue to communicate with the government and hope that their cooperation with Huawei will remain unchanged, Huawei added.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that Huawei’s products and services are widely recognized.
No factual evidence has been given to support security allegations against Huawei, and some countries are politicizing normal technological cooperation, Hua added.
The company said it has already secured 25 commercial contracts for 5G and shipped more than 10,000 base stations for the superfast technology. It also has inked deals with more than 50 partners from around the world, demonstrating the confidence its clients have in the company.
The comments came after some foreign governments voiced security concerns over products made by the world’s largest maker of telecom equipment and the world’s secondlargest smartphone vendor.
In the third quarter of 2018, Huawei had a 28 percent share of the global telecom equipment market and accounted for 14.6 percent of worldwide smartphone shipments, according to market research companies Dell’Oro Group and International Data Corp.
Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance, said Huawei is a global pioneer in research and development for 5G telecom equipment.
India wants to have a fast rollout of next-generation technology, so it called Huawei, Wang said. “Participating in 5G trials is an important step to build up trust.”
Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said it is unreasonable for foreign countries to doubt the safety of Huawei’s products just because it is a Chinese company.
Xiang Ligang, founder of the telecom website cctime, said Huawei has established an image as a reliable technology provider in the past three decades. With countries around the world expected to deploy large-scale 5G networks in a year or two, there will be a huge demand for telecom equipment.
Research agency IHS Markit forecast that the global market for 5G telecom equipment will hit $11 billion by 2022.
“Huawei’s cost-effective products and its ability to quickly respond to clients are the keys to keeping prices affordable and to ensuring a timely deployment of 5G around the world,” Xiang said.
This year has not been an annus mirablis for China’s Huawei Technologies Ltd, the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment and second-biggest maker of smartphones.
Although it has been constantly in the news and it is said there is no such thing as bad publicity, it has been making headlines because of the spurious claims it somehow poses a threat to the West, even world peace. It has never been explained exactly how.
In fact it is not because of anything it has done, but because its success has brought it into the crosshairs of the United States’ anxiety attacks against China.
Huawei is at the forefront of 5G technology. This latest generation mobile network technology promises to bring the much anticipated and heralded internet of things to life and the US is determined to be the 5G leader.
Not only because whichever country develops the technology that is adopted as standard will have a huge commercial advantage. But also because by setting the standard it will have a knowledge advantage.
As a result, first the US and then one after another its most obedient allies have blocked Huawei from entering their 5G markets on security grounds.
None of them have offered any specific justification for blocking Huawei. They just repeat their claim that the company poses a security risk. That is why objective observers have concluded that those countries are politicizing a commercial issue.
It sets a harmful precedent. What if other countries used the same excuse to block US companies (not confined to the telecom sector)? The US companies are very competitive in many fields, including those that could pose huge security risks, such as finance.
While Huawei will not go unscathed from being prevented from entering key markets, as a competitive player, it still has a vast market to access in other parts of the world. It has signed contracts to supply 5G equipment to 25 telecom carriers, and more than 10,000 5G base stations have been shipped.
In stark contrast to the US and its allies, India for instance, has invited Huawei to conduct 5G trials in the country and complimented it on the role it has played in helping to develop its telecom industry.
The efforts of the US and its allies to try to shield their companies against a Chinese competitor are politically motivated, not the result of a fact-based or transparent decision-making process. And they are counterproductive to the concerted efforts that are needed to ensure the security of 5G networks.