Opinion | Huawei’s troubles show why China’s tech titans will struggle to go global
- If Beijing is serious about becoming a global tech power, then innovation is not enough; it needs real rule of law. Chinese companies will be treated fairly abroad only if China’s legal system evolves
Huawei has steadily emerged as a 5G pioneer, showing how a Chinese company can become a global heavyweight. Yet it has also become a different kind of pioneer: the first victim of a foreign blockade of Chinese technology companies, which could upend Beijing’s plans to become a global tech leader.
The argument underpinning the campaign against Huawei is that, because of China’s political and legal systems in which the Communist Party has absolute control, no company is truly independent and every company can become a tool of the party. As William Evanina, the director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Centre, said: “Huawei … is not the problem; it’s the Communist Party of China.”
Huawei is just the first Chinese company that is strong and innovative enough to set off alarm bells in Western capitals. But it is becoming clear that it is not alone.
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