Huawei founder calls on Europe, Japan to step up development of alternative tech amid US blacklist

The US trade ban restricts the Chinese telecoms equipment giant from buying vital American hi-tech components

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Ren Zhengfei, founder and chief executive of Huawei Technologies, wants hi-tech companies in Japan and Europe to step up and become alternative suppliers that would compete against the major US component providers. Photo: Kyodo

Li Taoin Shenzhen

Published: 9:00pm, 6 Nov 2019Updated: 9:08am, 7 Nov 2019

Ren Zhengfei, founder and chief executive of Huawei Technologies, is looking to hi-tech suppliers in Europe and Japan for support, as the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker nears its sixth month on the US government’s trade blacklist.

“It remains a question mark for Chinese companies [to create alternatives to core technologies from the US] because of their relatively low-end skills,” Ren said on Wednesday at a panel discussion hosted by Huawei at its headquarters in Shenzhen.

That was not an issue for hi-tech companies in Japan and Europe, especially Germany, according to Ren, without elaborating on the identity of these firms. “So why shouldn’t they seize the opportunity to grow and develop [these alternative technologies]?”

Ren’s call comes as Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment supplier and second biggest smartphone vendor, continued to keep its global business afloat, despite being added by the Trump administration to Washington’s Entity List in May over security concerns. That has restricted Huawei’s access to vital hardware, software and services from American hi-tech suppliers, escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

The privately-held company recorded revenue of 209.5 billion yuan (US$29.9 billion) in the quarter ended September, up 26.7 per cent from a year earlier. It has secured more than 60 commercial 5G mobile network supply contracts to lead the industry, as it started to build 5G base stations without US components from September.