In an interview with CNN, Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said he believes the company can still overtake Samsung as the world's leading smartphone brand. This is despite the United States government's decision on Nov. 20 (Wednesday) to prohibit major American suppliers from dealing with the Chinese tech giant.
Huawei, ZTE: 'Threats to National Security'
On Nov. 22 (Friday), US regulators voted to enforce new rules for granting federal funds to American telecom companies. In a statement released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Chairman Ajit Pai said that they cannot afford to take risks when it comes to the country's security.
"We need to make sure our networks won't harm our national security, threaten our economic security, or undermine our values," he added.
Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. were described as "untrusted vendors" and "national security threats" on the document released on Oct. 28 (Monday).
In a developing story, the US Department of Commerce has granted licenses to several suppliers to resume business with Huawei. On the one hand, the department reported that they would also deny licenses to some key companies.
Several companies, such as Microsoft (MSFT), have already received licenses last week. Google (GOOGL) and Intel (INTC), however, are still barred from doing business with Huawei.
'We can still be no. 1'
Asked if his company can still become the world's top smartphone brand despite its current affair with Google, CEO Zen replied that it will take time but it's possible. Still, the tech giant's founder said that he would prefer to work with Google.
Ren added that they have a backup plan if the US government continues to impose restrictions on selling supplies to Chinese companies.
"We will have to resort to alternatives," he said. "If those alternatives become mature, I think it'll become less likely to switch back to previous versions."
He also mentioned that while his company is experiencing a serious setback, he is positive that the US government will consider what's best for American companies.
More Updates on Huawei
On Nov. 24 (Sunday), during a TV debate about Huawei, Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier likened China to the US, saying that the US also demanded sensitive information from its companies to fight terrorism.
He also emphasized that despite US' surveillance of Nato allies and spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel in the past, the Germans did not boycott any business transaction with the Americans.
US Ambassador Richard Grenell was quick to comment, saying that comparing the actions of the Chinese communists to the US government was an insult to the American troops who helped Germany as well as the Chinese citizens who were imprisoned by the communists.
In other news, Spain's Ministry of Defense on Nov. 28 (Thursday) has banned access to all Huawei devices from its data servers. The rule does not completely prohibit consumers from using Huawei devices—employees can still use their personal Huawei smartphones inside the Ministry but must use another device when accessing sensitive information from the Ministry's servers.
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