Hot on the heels of Washington opening a legal investigation into Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies on Dec. 1, the company’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada, once again throwing the spotlight back onto Huawei. The US has repeatedly thrown obstacles in the path of China’s 5G telecoms juggernaut, so much so that, to all intents and purposes, Huawei has already exited the US market.
In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice had initiated a criminal investigation to ascertain whether Huawei had violated the conditions of US trade sanctions against Iran. Following the news of Meng’s arrest, all eyes are now on Huawei to find out if it will suffer a similar fate to that of ZTE Corp, which was sanctioned by the US authorities earlier this year.
In April, ZTE was handed a seven-year ban on the purchase of US chips and components by US authorities for violating the trade embargo on Iran. The move plunged management at China’s second-largest producer of telecommunications equipment into a state of shock. ZTE was also fined a total of US$1.7 billion.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
However, in contrast to ZTE, Huawei will not be such an easy nut to crack for the US authorities. The Chinese company is the global market leader in telecommunications equipment and the second-largest seller of mobile phones. Huawei is widely viewed as having stolen a march on its competitors in regards to development of 5G telecommunications technology.
On April 25, US news broadcaster CNN’s sister Web site CNN Money cited a report by the US Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) that stated China is the most prepared of any nation to launch next generation super high-speed wireless technology. Additionally, the US comes in behind South Korea as the third-best prepared country. The report says that, “China holds a narrow lead in the race to 5G thanks to a combination of industry momentum and government support.” The report also says that Beijing plans to deploy 5G on a commercial scale by 2020.
Following the announcement of an investigation into the company by the US Department of Justice, Huawei set into motion plans to exit the US market. In October, Huawei’s deputy chairman Eric Xu said: “China’s market is large enough; many of the world’s top 500 companies are not operating in the US and they are doing just fine.” Xu added, “Huawei considers the US to be a minor market.”
Photo: Bloomberg
照片:彭博社
The Wall Street Journal last month reported that the US government had launched a campaign to persuade allied nations to avoid using Huawei’s telecommunications equipment for their wireless communications and Internet networks. New Zealand and Australia, citing national security concerns, have both blocked domestic telecoms companies from using Huawei equipment in their 5G mobile networks.
Despite difficulties in penetrating the US market, Huawei last month announced it has already won 22 commercial contracts around the globe for 5G mobile. At present there are 150 companies around the world carrying out testing of 5G, of which 50 are working in partnership with Huawei. Meanwhile, Huawei has already shipped 10,000 5G base units to Europe, the Middle East and other areas of the globe.
On Dec. 1, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and agreed a temporary 90-day reprieve to an escalation of the trade war, yet just hours later on the same day Meng was arrested in Canada.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
(CNA)
美國傳出啟動對中國通訊大廠華為的司法調查後,華為全球財務長孟晚舟本月一日在加拿大被捕,再度引起全球關注。事實上,美方多年來頻頻掣肘這家5G巨頭,華為已形同退出美國市場。
華爾街日報四月份報導,美國司法部已發動刑事調查,看華為是否違反美國制裁伊朗的規定。孟晚舟被捕消息傳出後,華為是否會像中興通訊一樣今年被美方制裁,已備受關注。
今年四月,中興通訊因違反伊朗禁運遭制裁,七年無法使用美國生產的晶片與零件,一度導致這家中國第二大電信設備廠商的業務陷入「休克」。中興總共繳交高達十七億美元的罰款。
但與中興相比,華為不是省油的燈。這家在全球通訊設備市占率第一、手機銷量第二的中國龍頭,在發展5G通訊技術一路領先其他競爭對手。
美國有線電視財經新聞網五月二十五日引述美國無線電公會報告說,在推出下一代超高速無線技術上,中國的準備最充分,其次是南韓,美國只排第三,而「中國在5G競賽中領先,得利於產業的動能和政府支持」。中國計畫二○二○年推出商用5G。
華為在傳出遭美國司法部調查後,就準備退出美國市場。華為副董事長徐直軍十月表示,「中國市場已經夠大了,很多世界五百強公司沒有進美國,一樣做得好」;「對於華為而言,美國已經算是一個小市場了」。
華爾街日報上個月報導,美國政府已展開行動,試圖說服盟邦的無線通訊和網路供應商避免使用華為的電信設備。紐西蘭和澳洲也已經以國安風險為由,阻止國內電信商採用華為5G行動網路設備。
縱使在美國無法伸展手腳,華為高層上個月宣布,已在全球贏得了二十二個5G商用合約。目前全球各地共有一百五十多家營運商展開5G測試,與華為合作的達到五十家。此外,華為已向歐洲、中東等市場大規模出貨一萬個5G基地台。
十二月一日,川習會落幕,中美才剛暫緩貿易戰,進入九十天協商期,孟晚舟就在當天於加拿大被補。
(中央社)
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Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies is a multinational telecommunications and consumer electronics giant headquartered in Shenzhen, China. This year, Huawei overtook Apple as the second largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, behind Samsung Electronics. The company is the largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the world.
Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei (任正非), a former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer who is believed to have worked as a military technologist within the army’s Information Technology research unit.
Huawei has repeatedly faced questions over reported links to the PLA and the Chinese Communist Party, with a number of governments around the world concerned that its equipment may contain so-called “backdoors” that could pose a cybersecurity threat and enable covert surveillance by the Chinese government. Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), also known as Sabrina Meng or Cathy Meng, is the daughter of Ren and his first wife, Meng Jun.
(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
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