Huawei's founder: the US government has "underestimated our power"

The growing animosity between Huawei Technologies and the US government was inevitable and a sales ban imposed by the Trump administration will have no effect on the company's plans, according to the founder of China's telecommunications giant.

Ren Zhengfei told Chinese official media on Tuesday that there would be "a conflict with the United States sooner or later" as Huawei seeks to strengthen its dominance in the global telecommunications industry.

"We sacrificed [the interests of] individuals and families in the name of an ideal, to be at the top of the world, "he said, according to an article in the South China Morning Post.

MORE FOXBUSINESS.COM …

The White House announced last week a decree aimed at preventing US companies from dealing with foreign telecommunications companies posing a risk to national security. While the action was agnostic with respect to society and countries, Huawei is the largest company to rely on.

After the order, the Commerce Department also placed the company on a "blacklist" preventing US companies from selling to Huawei without federal approval, which, according to experts, is unlikely.

On Monday, the agency announced that it would allow certain limited transactions for 90 days to allow US companies to "make other arrangements," Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

While major national telecommunications companies such as AT & T and Verizon Wireless have vowed not to use Huawei equipment in the development of fifth-generation wireless networks on standby, rural operators are still relying on their low-cost equipment.

Zhengfei said the ban would have no impact on Huawei's 5G strategy and expects it to enjoy a two to three year advantage over its competitors.

"The current actions of American politicians have underestimated our power," he told CCTV state television.

Teleprinter	security	Latest	Change	% Chg
T	AT & T INC.	32.19	0.39	+ 1.23%
TMUS	T-MOBILE US INC	78.29	2.92	+ 3.87%
S	SPRINT CORP.	6.95	0.77	+ 12.46%
VZ	VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC.	59.01	0.92	+ 1.58%

Following the actions of the Trump administration, a number of companies immediately took steps to limit their relationship with Chinese society. Google, for example, said it would limit access to popular applications on Huawei smartphones, a decision that was reversed after the 90-day reprieve from the White House.

Chip makers like Intel and Qualcomm Inc. also reportedly suspended their shipments to Huawei. If the company develops some of its own chips, it relies on US companies for the other parties.

The spokespersons for Qualcomm and Intel did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP

Federal officials and US lawmakers have long accused Huawei of being closely linked to the Chinese government and of effectively acting as a means of spying on the Asian nation around the world.

The Trump administration has attempted to pressure some US allies to also restrict the use of Huawei hardware in the pending 5G networks. As a result of the ban, however, countries like Germany have indicated that it is unlikely that they will take further action against the company.