Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, called for the restoration of relations between the US and the Chinese technology giant. In a conversation with international media in China for the first time in more than a year, Ren expressed willingness to speak to President Biden and said he hoped for an ‘open policy’ from the new government.
‘I will be welcome [a call from Biden]Ren said in translated comments to The edge and reported by CNBC, AFP, and the South China Morning Post. ‘I would talk to him about general development. Both the US and China need to develop their economies because it is good for our society and financial balance. ”
“Allowing U.S. companies to deliver goods to Chinese customers is conducive to their own financial performance,” Ren said. “If Huawei’s increased production capacity, it would mean that American companies could sell more. This is a win-win situation. I believe the new government will weigh and balance these interests as they consider their policies. We still hope to be able to buy many American components, spare parts and machinery so that American companies can also develop with the Chinese economy. ”
Huawei is currently unable to do business with U.S. companies because the Trump administration has placed it on the Department of Commerce’s trade list, citing fears of national security. This means, among other things, that Huawei cannot license Android from Google, which is seriously hampering its smartphone business outside China.
This forced Huawei to sell its Honor subsidiary to protect the brand and allow it to manufacture smartphones, but Ren rejected rumors that Huawei would do the same for its own smartphone division. “We will never sell our device business,” he said.
Ren also called the iPhone 12 “the best in the world” and said it helped make the case for Huawei’s 5G networks. “Many high-end users in Europe use iPhones, and the way those phones work on our networks in Europe is a sign that we’s doing well too,” he said.
Update, February 9, 07.05: Ren’s quotes have been updated to reflect an official transcript of the discussion.