Ren Zhengfei: I would feel guilty if I sacrificed the interests of the poor people to save Huawei!

On August 20, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, 74, was interviewed by the Associated Press at the tree-lined Huawei headquarters. Although the United States has announced that the (temporary license) can be extended for another 90 days, Ren Zhengfei said in the interview that given the current political atmosphere of the US government, he does not think the United States will relax export restrictions, but he stressed that he is confident in the company's future development because the company is already developing its own technology.

Ren also said he did not want the United States to ease sanctions if China was required to make concessions in the tariff war, even if it meant a longer legal battle for his daughter, who is currently under house arrest in Canada on U.S. criminal charges.

He said, "As for whether the 'temporary license' is extended or not, it will not have much impact on Huawei. We can survive well without relying on the United States."

Huawei Technologies Co., China’s first tech brand to go global, is at the center of a trade and technology war that threatens to tip the global economy into recession. It is also the world’s second-largest smartphone brand. U.S. officials accuse the company of stealing technology and helping China conduct espionage, charges Huawei denies.

Huawei's chief financial officer, the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, is facing U.S. charges and an extradition request for violating trade sanctions against Iran. She is fighting extradition to the United States from Canada.

The interview was conducted in a gorgeous European neoclassical building. This is where Huawei receives customers. Ren Zhengfei remained relaxed and confident throughout the two-hour interview. The atmosphere was far different from the press conference on June 17, when Mr. Ren compared Huawei to a "rotten airplane" and predicted that Huawei's mobile phone sales could drop by $30 billion in the next two years due to US sanctions.

Trump suggested that restrictions on Huawei could be lifted if Beijing agreed to a trade deal and technology dispute. The United States is imposing tariffs on Chinese products. But Ren Zhengfei rejected the proposal, saying: "The interests of poor people cannot be sacrificed to save Huawei."

Huawei's sales in the first six months of this year grew 23.2% year-on-year. In July, Chairman Liang Hua said Huawei was reviewing its core products to ensure it could still deliver them to customers without U.S. components.

Ren Zhengfei said: "The US Entity List is helpful to Huawei because it strategically cuts off unimportant products at the edge and brings these forces together on the main channel." He also said: "The entire company can focus more on the most competitive products."

This month, Huawei launched its own smartphone operating system, claiming it can replace the widely used Google Android system. Huawei phones can still use Android, but Google is banned from providing support for other services such as maps and music. Earlier this year, Huawei launched the chip that will power the next generation of smartphones and the first phone based on this chip. But he said Huawei hopes to maintain technical cooperation with Google, Microsoft and other American developers.

Ren Zhengfei rarely made public appearances or spoke to reporters before his daughter was arrested in December. Since December, he has given several interviews to foreign journalists in an attempt to repair the company's reputation. "I think the interviews are effective."

Asked about pro-democracy protests in Shenzhen's neighbor Hong Kong, Mr. Ren said violence was "bad for society and people, but it won't affect Huawei." "It has no impact on us at all," Mr. Ren said. "Huawei is just producing well and patching up the holes in the broken planes."

Ren Zhengfei calls himself a fan of the United States and has publicly praised Trump as a leader. He said: "Huawei's strength in the market will become the strength of American companies, because our products are also supported by American technology." If Huawei is banned from using Android and forced to develop other systems, "it will not be the choice that best suits the interests of the United States."

But at the same time, Ren Zhengfei believes that "it is impossible for anyone in the United States to stand up and call for Huawei to be removed from the 'Entity List'. It is politically correct to attack Huawei in the United States. If Americans help Huawei even once, they will be under tremendous pressure, so the 'Entity List' will exist for a long time."

In fact, he said, the biggest impact would be on U.S. manufacturers that sell chips and other components to Huawei, the world's largest maker of network equipment that serves carriers.

According to the latest reports, U.S. listed companies lost $435 million in the second quarter. During a financial conference call, analysts of U.S. listed companies said that this was directly attributed to the U.S. ban, because the ban caused obvious confusion to corporate decision makers across the country, and the long-term impact of the ban may bring greater losses to U.S. companies.

Joy Tan, senior vice president of public affairs at Huawei, was interviewed by the American media RCR Wireless News and talked about the economic losses that banning Huawei would bring to the United States. She said:

"Futurewei, Huawei's R&D subsidiary in the United States, has laid off 600 employees and suspended plans to invest $600 million in R&D activities this year. Washington's actions actually hurt American companies, and many companies in the value chain will be affected directly or indirectly."

Washington’s actions will hurt rural U.S. carriers and the hardworking Americans who rely on them, and removing and replacing existing Huawei equipment could take up to seven years and cost more than $1 billion.

This complex geopolitical dispute could also hurt American workers and businesses, as Huawei spends about $11 billion a year procuring goods and services from American companies, involving about 50,000 American workers and their families.

“The government’s actions have forced us to put these plans on hold,” Joy told reporters. “Washington’s actions have actually hurt American businesses. Many companies in the value chain will be affected directly or indirectly. If the situation continues to develop, we will soon see the ripple effects.”

According to the latest reports, the US ban has caused US listed companies to lose $435 million in the second quarter. Analysts of US listed companies said during the second quarter financial conference call that this was directly attributed to the US ban because the ban caused obvious confusion to corporate decision makers across the country, and the long-term impact of the ban may bring greater losses to US companies.

Huawei does not work with any major U.S. carriers, and the company only provides network equipment to some rural and regional carriers that serve remote areas of the U.S. that are not covered by large service providers such as Verizon and AT&T. The U.S. Senate is considering action to provide funding to these carriers to remove and replace existing Huawei equipment, which Joy said could take up to seven years and cost more than $1 billion.

“Washington’s actions will hurt rural American carriers and the hard-working Americans who rely on them. If you want to call 911 in Montana or eastern Oregon, the only reason the call goes through is because of Huawei equipment. Schools, hospitals, farms, small businesses, and more rely on Huawei for connectivity.”

Huawei has signed more than 50 5G contracts with operators around the world, including operators in major regions of Western Europe, such as providing end-to-end 5G solutions to Swiss service provider Sunrise. Despite the current concerns raised by the United States ostensibly on the grounds of cybersecurity and Huawei's relationship with the Chinese government, Huawei still conducts and leads a series of cybersecurity tests and verifications, and these efforts helped the company's revenue increase by more than 23% year-on-year in the first half of 2019.

Regarding the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States, Joy said, "Some American politicians want to use Huawei as a proxy for China and make it a target for their attacks to advance their political interests. But Huawei does not want to be a bargaining chip... We hope that over time we can clarify the truth and people can understand that Huawei is just a company that wants to connect the world, a pure and honest company."

Ren Zhengfei said to the Associated Press reporter, "I can't live with myself if I ask poor people to give up some benefits to the United States and save a wealthy Huawei. Maybe my daughter will suffer more, but I would rather do this than let the poor in China sacrifice for the survival and development of Huawei."