HUAWEI Founder: We Are Cooperating with US Partners Again
HUAWEI founder and executive director Ren Zhengfei spoke with international Internet edition CNBC about HUAWEI's future development and relations with American partners.
In the interview, Zhengfei emphasized the contribution of American companies to the development of HUAWEI: „Partnership with them is very important for us, and this cooperation counts already 30 years. The relationship and partnership between the two parties are above the politics“.
During the interview, the HUAWEI executive director paid special attention to Google, noting that if HUAWEI does not use an Android operating system, Google will lose 700-800 million users, which is a huge loss. Consequently, continuation of their partnership is in the interest of both companies.
„HUAWEI orders chips from American suppliers. Our partners are doing their best to fulfill their obligations and seek to obtain a permit from Official Washington. If there is agreement, HUAWEI will continue purchasing American chips. Even if HUAWEI does not get enough products from its partners, the company in any case has its own resources to produce them itself“, said Zhengfei.
The HUAWEI founder also noted that such radical actions and attacks were not expected from the US government, yet the company was able to prepare for a hard time. According to Zhengfei, in the next few years, the volume of production may be reduced and the income from sales may be less than the expected figure in 2019 - up to $30 billion less. However, it is expected that in the near future, the company will return to growth rates and offer even better services to society. „On the background of current developments, I'm amazed by the efforts of our staff: they have become more energetic and work more than ever. We will together do our best to win this sanctions battle“, he stated.
Speaking about cyber security, Zhengfei noted that years of experience have proved the company's credibility.
„HUAWEI is responsible for providing connectivity between 3 billion people, connecting banks, business and government. Over the past 30 years, 170 countries have been given access to HUAWEI services and this link has never been violated, which makes it very clear for network security“ - noted Zhengfei.
He also touched upon intellectual property issues and noted how important it is for a company’s development to respect ethical standards.
“HUAWEI has always operated with appropriate ethical standards, even when it was a small company. Simply put, HUAWEI could not be what it is today without strong business ethics,” he told CNBC.
Speaking about the development of the sector and the sphere, Ren Zhengfei emphasized one of the main directions that will be further developed in the coming years. "Artificial intelligence (AI) will be the main driving force for people over the next 20-30 years. AI strengthens human capabilities but does not change them. Society is getting more and more complex; challenges are more serious, and in the future, some tasks will be directly regulated by AI. We need to be tolerant towards innovations. AI is not something negative: it's a continuation of people's capabilities,” the HUAWEI founder said.
To close, he touched on HUAWEI's smartphone sales forecasts. “Initially, sales fell by about 40%, but this process was quickly regulated, and the indicator has already decreased to 20%. So the situation will improve little by little. Do we have another way of development? To tell the truth, I have not thought of such a thing yet. We believe in only one road and follow it step-by-step - we will not stop until we reach the peak of our industry!”
By Mariam Merabishvili