Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei seen with disgraced pianist Li Yundi, sparking speculation on Chinese social media

Huawei Technologies founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei has whipped up a storm on Chinese social media after he was seen with disgraced Chinese classical pianist Li Yundi, when they visited the telecommunications equipment giant’s Songshan Lake campus in Dongguan over the weekend.

Ren, 79, accompanied Li on a tour of the European-themed campus – the Shenzhen-based company’s research and development base – according to photos and videos circulating on various Chinese social media platforms. Both wore casual attire during their visit.

The photos and videos sparked discussion on Chinese social media, as netizens were puzzled about Ren’s jaunt with the musician formerly known in China as the “piano prince”, who was arrested and briefly detained in 2021 by the police in Beijing on suspicion of patronising a prostitute.

“Li’s appearance is so unexpected, and I can see controversy brewing,” a user wrote on microblogging service Weibo.