Huawei Technologies Co (華為) founder Ren Zhengfei (任正非) is ready to license his 5G networking technology only to one other company — and he wants that potential archrival to be American.
The Chinese army officer-turned-billionaire yesterday reiterated an offer to license out Huawei’s full portfolio of 5G wireless technology — which would include chip designs, hardware and source code — to a single, exclusive licensee
That should be a US company, because Europe is home to close competitors such as Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB, and does not need help to compete, he said.
Photo: Reuters
Huawei, accused by US President Donald Trump’s administration of aiding Beijing in spying while spearheading China’s tech-superpower ambitions, is trying to claw back business and shore up trust in its products.
Ren reaffirmed an earlier estimate that US sanctions could depress the company’s sales by US$10 billion annually.
His lieutenants have lately echoed his 5G licensing proposal to reassure foreign customers that Huawei’s gear is free of security loopholes, but a willing buyer has yet to emerge.
Photo: AFP
“We would like to offer an exclusive license to one company from the West so that it’s able to achieve economies of scale to support a business,” Ren said in a live-streamed discussion with visiting foreign academics. “With this one company, I think it should be a US company.”
Critics say that intellectual property theft from the likes of Cisco Systems Inc and Motorola Solutions Inc helped Huawei vault into the upper echelons of telecommunications providers, while Ren and his executives credit years of investment and research.
Huawei is now accelerating spending on artificial intelligence chips and mobile software. It is mobilizing its employees to source or develop alternatives to US circuitry and software to keep its edge in smartphones and next-generation 5G wireless technology.
Huawei is on track to produce 600,000 base stations this year and 1.5 million next year.
The company can make it happen without US components, but it would prefer buying from US suppliers, Ren said.
The 74-year-old has gone from recluse to media maven in the span of months as he fights to save the US$100 billion firm he founded.
He has taken the lead in Huawei’s defense after the arrest of his eldest daughter, chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), as part of a broader probe into the company.
He has since become a central figure in a US-Chinese conflict that is potentially the most important episode to shape world affairs since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“As time goes by, trust levels will increase,” he said during a discussion with Stanford lecturer Jerry Kaplan and fellow academic Peter Cochrane. “If we’re talking about a tech decoupling or separate governance, I don’t think it’s possible.”
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