The founder of Huawei dissatisfied with the escalation of the conflict with the United States | China News

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei challenged the United States in its fight against 5G technology against 5G technology. Washington has temporarily eased some of the commercial restrictions imposed on the company in order to minimize the effects on customers.

Speaking Tuesday in Chinese state media, Ren said the United States underestimated Huawei, the world's largest maker of telecommunications equipment and its second largest smartphone maker.

"The current practice of American politicians underestimates our strength," Ren said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV.

Last week, US President Donald Trump declared a "national emergency" allowing him to blacklist companies considered "an unacceptable risk to the US national security" – a move that , according to analysts, was clearly aimed at Huawei.

At the same time, the US Department of Commerce announced the effective ban on US companies selling or transferring technology to Huawei.

Ren insisted that the move would have no effect.

"Huawei's 5G will not be affected at all," he said. "In terms of 5G technologies, the others will not be able to catch up with Huawei in two or three years," he said.

Smartphones

The US Internet giant Google, whose Android mobile operating system is powering most of the world's smartphones, said this week that it was beginning to break its ties with Huawei in light of the American blacklist.

This could have dramatic consequences for Huawei phone users, as the telecommunications giant would no longer have access to exclusive Google services, including Gmail and Google Maps.

Ren told the media that Huawei was in discussion with Google on how to deal with the ban.

On Monday, the US Commerce Department granted a 90-day technology transfer deadline to give Huawei a temporary license to buy products manufactured in the United States to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing phones.

The suspension is intended to give Huawei's telecom operators dependent on equipment the time to make other arrangements, said US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a statement.

"In short, this license will allow continued operations for Huawei mobile phone users and existing rural broadband networks," he said.

The license, in effect until August 19, suggests that changes to Huawei's supply chain could have immediate, far-reaching, and unplanned consequences for its customers.

"The goal seems to be to prevent Internet systems, computers and cell phones from breaking down," said Lawyer Kevin Wolf, formerly head of the Commerce Department, at the University of California. Reuters news agency. "It's not a capitulation, it's a household."

Addressing the Chinese state media, Ren said that Huawei was ready.

"The US 90 day temporary license does not have much impact on us, we are ready," Ren said.

Half of the chips used in Huawei's equipment come from the United States and the other half is manufactured by the Chinese company, he said.

"We can not be isolated from the world," Ren said, pointing out that he did not see a situation in which Huawei would be completely cut off from US supply.

Climbing tensions

The dispute over Huawei added to the tensions resulting from the intensification of the trade war between the world's two largest economies, with both parties trading large tariff increases when negotiations failed.

Einar Tangen, a policy analyst who advises the Chinese government on the economy and development, said the United States was trying to destroy competition.

"Basically, it is a very clear attempt to paralyze Huawei," he told Al Jazeera from Beijing, warning however of potential "disastrous consequences" for the profits of some US giants. of technology.

"You could see Apple's sales plummet – one of the other realities of this trade war is that this type of international reporting is going to affect more and more nationalists, China, and that they will be hesitant to buy Apple products and other US products, "said Tangen. .

"Do not forget that there is a market of more than $ 350 billion a year in which US companies sell in China, which could have disastrous consequences for companies." US companies, particularly with respect to profits. "

The conflict also took place in Canada after Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also Ren's daughter, was arrested in December following an extradition request from the United States. concerning alleged violations of sanctions imposed on Washington by Iran.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians working in China, were arrested shortly after. Both men were formally accused of spying last week, an action that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as "unacceptable".

Kovrig is a former diplomat who now works with the International Crisis Group, a global think tank, as a senior advisor for Northeast Asia, while Spavor is a businessman. . Men were allowed to meet with consular officials only once a month and were not allowed to consult a lawyer.

Meng is on bail and lives in his mansion in Vancouver.