Huawei can survive further US attacks, founder says

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has said the US is “over-concerned” about the Chinese company and its rise in the world of technology.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on the subject of artificial intelligence, Zhengfei said the US blacklisting of Huawei was because it was not comfortable with Huawei challenging the country technologically.

Last year, the US imposed trade restrictions on Huawei over concerns about the company’s security and ties to the Chinese government, with allegations its telecommunications equipment could be used to spy on people — something Huawei has repeatedly denied.

“The US is over-concerned. The US has got used to being the world number one and thinking they should be the best in everything that they do,” Zhengfei said.

“If there is someone who is better than them they might not feel comfortable. I think the US should not be over-concerned about Huawei and Huawei’s position in the world.”

‘Withstood the challenges’

The Chinese firm’s chairman added that he was confident Huawei could survive any further “attacks” from the US, following the Trump administration’s decision to add Huawei to the Entity List, which limits the amount of trade it can do with American companies.

“Regarding the Entity List, Huawei was added to the list last year and it did not hurt us much. We basically withstood the challenges — we did some preparation before that,” he said.

“This year, the US might further escalate their campaign against Huawei but I feel the impact on Huawei’s business would not be very significant.”