The CEO Of China's Most Mysterious Tech Company Spoke To Reporters For The First Time In 26 Years
Ren has avoided the press since he founded Huawei 26 years ago, which has fueled criticism by some foreign officials that the company is not transparent about its activities. The company has also been accused of being too close to the Chinese government. Huawei has denied any improper links.
"Huawei has no connection to the cyber-security issues the U.S. has encountered in the past, current and future," Ren, 68, told local reporters in New Zealand, where Huawei won contracts to build 4G LTE and ultra-fast broadband networks.
"Huawei equipment is almost non-existent in networks currently running in the U.S. We have never sold any key equipment to major U.S. carriers, nor have we sold any equipment to any U.S. government agency," Ren said.
Shenzhen-based Huawei is the world's second-largest telecom equipment maker, ranking behind Sweden's Ericsson, but it has failed to sell its telecom gear in the massive U.S. market due to U.S. national security concerns.
The $35 billion company, which is also the world's No.5 smartphone maker competing against the likes of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, has also been barred from taking part in supplying Australia's and Canada's government networks.
In April, Ren said that he was being transparent to the outside world even though he had never granted any interviews, because articles he had written were readily available on the company's website.
In another effort to be more open, his daughter, Cathy Meng, who is Huawei's chief financial officer, earlier this year hosted her first news conference to announce the company's 2012 results.
(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Matt Driskill)
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- BenQ Zowie XL2546X review – Monitor for the serious gamers
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?