The New Zealand government leaked a letter and accused Huawei of "threatening" the government for profit

According to RNZ, in early July, Yanek Fan, managing director of Huawei New Zealand, wrote a letter to Andrew Little, Minister of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), and Kris Faafoi, Minister of Communications. But the letter was "leaked" to local media NZME.

Today, the New Zealand government publicly warned Huawei about this letter, saying "do not threaten the New Zealand government." So what kind of letter is this?

The report pointed out that the letter outlined the potential consequences of New Zealand's support for the Huawei ban, and pointed out that it was "arbitrary and capricious" for New Zealand to single out Huawei when its competitors also have ties to China.

The letter also said that such an approach would have a "significant impact" on Huawei's revenue and would even create a "real risk" that the company would have to leave the New Zealand market.

Last year, the GCSB rejected Spark's proposal to work with China's Huawei to provide 5G for New Zealand, citing security risks. Spark is still deciding whether to reapply.

Huawei New Zealand deputy general manager Andrew Bowater said the government's repeated refusal to meet with Huawei prompted the company to send the letter. "This is not just a small 5G project, it's clear this has a huge impact on our business."

Andrew Bowater said the letter set out the economic impact that could happen to New Zealand if Huawei was forced out of the country's market. "The think tank panel has done research on the impact on the economy and across the industry, including increased costs, higher prices for consumers and frankly, more mediocre performance overall," he said.

He also stressed that "we have done nothing wrong, and there is no evidence that we have done anything wrong. We hope to have a fair chance in this market."

Today, New Zealand Communications Security Bureau Minister Andrew Little responded that he had read the "lengthy letter" sent by Fan Yan and forwarded it to his officials for response. "It is inappropriate for me to contact them. It is not the job of the Communications Security Bureau or the minister to communicate with technology suppliers."

But he warned Huawei not to threaten the New Zealand government. He believed that Huawei was not cooperating with the government, but wanted to gain more commercial benefits and advantages by putting pressure on the government.

When asked if he was worried about the prospect of Huawei withdrawing from New Zealand, Andrew Little was dismissive, saying it was not uncommon to receive threats like this, but Huawei currently has other customers in New Zealand, "let's see, they will make their own business decisions."

Huawei New Zealand deputy general manager Andrew Bowater said the letter should not be interpreted as a threat and he was disappointed that it had been "leaked".

"We still want to be in New Zealand ... because we have some contracts and we will continue to support our customers and we will stay the course. But we will say that New Zealand is probably missing out on the best quality technology."