Huawei Technologies Co. founder Ren Zhengfei recently pointed out that 5G is not that powerful and is just an ordinary technology, whilst United States politicians have exaggerated its role, only to call people’s attention to the 5G technology.
“There is basically no Huawei equipment in the US networks. If networks are secure without Huawei, then I think it’s worthwhile to ban Huawei to keep these networks secure. But are US networks really secure without Huawei? Is their information secure? The answer is No. The US isn’t secure even if it keeps Huawei out. Will Canadian networks be secure without Huawei?” Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei pointed out in a recent exclusive interview with CTV News Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme. He made these comments responding to a question raised by Lisa LaFlamme whether ‘There are countries including Canada right now who are debating this issue in parliament and in private back offices, whether or not they should follow the American advice and example and ban Huawei’.
Responding to her Ren further explained that the United States of America (USA) has not produced any evidence that Huawei is the only company with security issues.
“Are other companies free of security issues? With technology developing at such a fast pace, issues are bound to occur. Issues are what drive our society forward: Once an issue appears, people need to rapidly work out a solution, and that’s how our society has evolved into what it is today, by addressing issues over the past several millennia” Ren said.
“I think 5G is just another technology, like an information ‘water tap’, and it is only bigger and carrying more ‘water’. Why are people considering it to be a nuclear weapon?” He pointed out during the interview.
“I don’t think the US has made a convincing case for a Huawei ban. That’s why the remarks made by its Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in other countries have failed to produce positive results” Ren pointed out adding that whilst they are great politicians who had indeed dedicated themselves to politics.
“I am not being sarcastic when I say this. I respect them. They are using their prestige to tell the world how important Huawei is. The fact is, Huawei is not that important. 5G is not that powerful. It’s just an ordinary technology. These politicians have exaggerated its role, only to call people’s attention to this technology” Ren asserted during the interview.
“I think we should pay them for doing advertising for Huawei. Huawei has never been more famous than we are today. With so many senior US politicians advertising our company around the world, people everywhere are becoming aware of Huawei. They may not know for sure if Huawei is a good or bad company, but they start to learn about Huawei. When they visit our website and see the facts, they know that Huawei is a good company” Ren added
He pointed out that in January and February 2019 Huawei’s sales revenue grew 35.8% year-on-year, which is much higher than expected.
“Thanks to those US politicians, carriers and consumers have come to know Huawei better. I’d like to thank them for advertising Huawei” Ren said stressing that the fact is, Huawei is not that important. He went on to highlight that 5G is well-known now, but this was not the case for earlier generations of communication technology.
“I’m not worried about their lobbying against Huawei around the world, because every country will make its own decision. Carriers have worked with Huawei for more than 20 years, and we have served 3 billion people worldwide who have trusted us for more than 20 years” Ren asserted adding that those customers will make their own judgments.
‘“They have the right to decide and choose whether to work with Huawei. We are not worried about this” Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said.
When Lisa LaFlamme asked about that ‘There are assumptions that somehow he is linked to the Chinese government and that would be the concern US saying publicly – a security risk, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei asserted that “We have no ties with the Chinese military”.
He further added that the only relationship with the Chinese government of Huawei is that the company comply with Chinese laws and they pay taxes to the Chinese government.
“That’s all about our relationship with the Chinese government. Nothing else” Ren said.
“The US should stop fixating on my experience in the military. I was a very low-ranking officer back then, without any titles. The US government has exaggerated the impact of this experience on my life. Let’s not overthink it” Ren further said.
He went on to explain that as to the concerns that they may install backdoors for the Chinese government, a top Chinese government official just stated at the Munich Security Conference that the Chinese government would never require Chinese companies to install backdoors.
“We have also promised that we would sign no-backdoor agreements with carriers all over the world. The Chinese government has agreed that we can do this. If necessary, perhaps we can invite the Chinese government to witness the signing of such agreements. This shows that the Chinese government endorses our signing of such agreements” Ren said.
He further said that the US has developed into a major power in just 200 years.
“How has it achieved this? I think it is its openness, which attracted the world’s bright minds. And the inventions they created have been protected by the US through intellectual property laws. That’s how the US has grown to be such a big power today” Ren said adding that this is the right path forward, a path that will lead and that China also needs to stay open and implement reforms.
“Huawei was just a company that was unknown to many people until we faced off with this powerful rival. This has made our company look powerful. People are more willing to buy our products now” Ren highlighted.
He went on to say that sooner or later they would have some kind of conflict with US companies in telecom industry.
“Now, we are in the 5G sector, but the US does not have a 5G industry. So the conflict isn’t that intense” Ren said adding Huawei is now the third largest buyer of US chips.
“If the US doesn’t sell us chips, many US companies would see a decline in their business. This would influence their stock value, but wouldn’t really impact our production. The US does have more advanced chips than we do, but without US chips, we can still develop world-leading products. So I think only collaboration can lead to shared success. Conflict won’t do anyone any good” Ren said
He further said that Huawei will never install backdoors. According to him Huawei’s global sales are worth hundreds of billions of US dollars. He pointed out that ‘If there were backdoors in company’s equipment and someone found them out, no customer would buy our equipment in any of the 170+ countries and regions where Huawei operates.