The founder of the Chinese network equipment Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has spoken in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC, among other things, the dispute with the US government and the future of the company. „The US can not destroy us under any circumstances,“ he said.
The Department of Justice in Washington had declared at the end of January to take action against Huawei: Overall, Huawei, Group Manager Meng Wanzhou and two subsidiaries in 13 charges are accused of violations of the US sanctions against Iran. Two Huawei subsidiaries are also charged with industrial espionage in ten other charges.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also warned other countries last week not to use Huawei technology. As Ren said in the interview, even if the Americans persuade other countries not to use Huawei temporarily, „we can still scale down.“ „When the light goes out in the west, it will still shine in the east, and when it gets dark in the north, there is still the south, America does not represent the world, America only represents part of the world.“
The founder of the company also spoke about the arrest of his daughter: Huawei manager Meng Wanzhou was arrested in early December in Canada at the instigation of the US; She is accused of having fraudulently violated sanction rights. Although Meng is now on bail, the procedure for their extradition to the US is still running. If convicted, the 46-year-old man faces decades in prison.
Ren now told the BBC he dismissed US action: „This kind of politically motivated act is unacceptable.
The US Department of Justice rejected the accusation of political motivation. Meng Wanzhou’s case is based solely on evidence and laws, Ministry spokeswoman Nicole Navas said in an email to Reuters news agency.
New negotiation round between the USA and China starting on Tuesday
Beijing and Washington have been fiercely engaged in trade for months. The US has imposed special duties on goods from China worth more than 250 billion euros. China has responded with retaliatory tariffs.
In early December, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on a 90-day „peace period“ until March 1. The US has threatened with new punitive tariffs, if there is no agreement until then. Trump hinted, however, that the deadline could be postponed for a while, if an agreement was near. He also encouraged a direct meeting with Xi to reach a deal at the highest level.
Last week, representatives of the US and China met in Beijing for talks, but it did not come to an agreement. According to the White House, talks will continue in Washington on Tuesday. After a first round at expert level, Minister of Finance Steven Mnuchin, Trade Minister Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wanted to lead the talks from 21 February onwards.
