Chennai: Chinese technologies major Huawei has come out saying the US government’s campaign against it will not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them.
Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei also denied that restrictions imposed on his firm would affect the roll-out of 5G technology.
US President Donald Trump had recently imposed restrictions on the telecom giant to put a dampener on the dominance of the Chinese in the field of 5G. No sooner had he made his announcement, American tech giants, including Google, Qualcomm and Intel announced that they are cutting their ties with Huawei.
Speaking to the Chinese media, Ren Zhengfei, said the firm has been speaking with other countries at the moment. “We have been communicating with leaders of different countries. Every country has its own interests. The campaign of the US will not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them,” he said.
Not much impact
“In sectors where we have the most advanced technologies, at least in the 5G sector, there wonât be much impact. Not just that, our competitors wonât be able to catch up with us within two to three years,” said the Huawei CEO.
However, he was aware that supply of parts might be handicapped due to the new restrictions. Zhengfei said, ‘Even if there is an insufficient supply from our partners, we will face no problems. This is because we can manufacture all the high-end chips we need ourselves.’
The founder said his company still believes in one-plus-one (1+1) policy. “Despite the much lower costs of our own chips, I would still buy higher-priced chips from the US. We cannot be isolated from the world. Instead, we should become part of it. These relationships wonât be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government,” Zhengfei told the Chinese media.
Android & Google
The technology major is reportedly working on its custom HongMeng operating system due to the Android ban, but it admits that development is in its early days.
Zhengfei was particularly of high praise on Google. He said, “Google is a good company – a highly responsible company. They are also trying to persuade the US government to solve this problem. We are both finding solutions and discussing possible remedies.”
Due to the ban, Huawei would not be able to use Google products like Maps, Search, YouTube and Play Store.
“We will certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our mass production capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List wonât have a huge impact on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide,” the CEO said.
Slowdown
“Our growth will slow down, though not by as much as everyone imagines. In the first quarter of this year, our revenue grew 39 per cent over the same period last year. This rate may continue decreasing towards the end of this year. But the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development of our industry,” he asserted.
“We cannot simply say that one is patriotic if they use Huawei products and they are not if they donât use Huawei products. Huawei products are ultimately commodities. People use them if they like them. Politics should be left out of it,” he noted.
| Know this |
| * Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the worldâs largest contract chipset maker, would continue to deliver critical semiconductors to Huawei Technologies.
* The companyâs subsidiary HiSilicon, maker of Kirin chipsets, has been reportedly stockpiling components and for a steady supply of most products. * The company currently has 26 centres of expertise for R&D globally. Over 700 mathematicians, 800 physicists and 120 chemists work at Huawei. * 5G technology might grow from approximately $528 million in 2018 to $26 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 118 per cent, according to reports. |