Huawei’s founder insists his company would never spy on behalf of China

Huawei has long insisted that they do not spy on behalf of the Chinese government, despite what the US government is claiming. It seems that these claims have reached to the point where Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, has decided to break years of public silence and settle the matter once and for all with statements made to reporters.

In a roundtable briefing with reporters, Ren acknowledged that he does support China’s Communist Party, but at the same time it does not mean that he or his company are spies for the Chinese government and that he would not do anything to harm the world.

“I love my country, I support the Communist Party. But I will not do anything to harm the world. I don’t see a close connection between my personal political beliefs and the businesses of Huawei.”

Ren also stated that should there ever be a time when Beijing requests sensitive information on Huawei’s clients, he would decline it. However, we have to wonder how he will do that, especially given that in 2017 China passed its National Intelligence Law which gave the country’s intelligence agencies the ability to compel Chinese corporations or citizens to “collaborate” with them.

2018 was clearly not the year for Huawei, and with the escalating trade war between the US and China, we have to admit that we are skeptical about the company’s future for 2019 as well. Despite the opposition, Huawei has remained optimistic, with its CEO promising “growth, innovation, and commitment to privacy”.

Source: Bloomberg