For the first time since his daughter, Meng Wanzhou's arrest, Huawei's Ren Zhengfei has spoken up about the issue, stating that the United States' move had political roots.
In an international broadcast interview with BBC News, Zhengfei said of his daughter's arrest, "Firstly, I object to what the U.S. has done. This kind of politically motivated act is not acceptable." He noted that while the company dismisses the claims, they are willing to let the law handle the issue.
Meng was arrested in Vancouver on December 1. The U.S. government made the request that has since received criticism from the Chinese government. 23 charges were handed out to Meng and Huawei.
The arrest stemmed from two main accusations: the first includes allegations that the Chinese tech giant had connections to Iran while the second alleged that the company attempted to steal American trade secrets. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations.
In the interview, Ren also dismissed claims about the tech company allegedly spying on the U.S. government. He clarified that the company, who is also the creator of Honor, will not risk the respect they receive from their country and customers across the globe. "If we have any such actions, then I'll shut company down," he pledged.
Ren went on to explain that if the U.S. will completely put up walls for cooperation with Huawei, the company will not hesitate to explore other options such as the United Kingdom, countries in the South, and other regions where no ban has been imposed.
"There's no way the US can crush us," he stressed, adding that Huawei's advanced technology is one of the reasons why the rest of the world is not closing doors for cooperation.
Meanwhile, Britain seems to have found ways to manage the reported issues that the U.S. found on Huawei's 5G networks. After looking into the potential risks that the Asian tech provider's 5G networks could bring forth, the U.K. concluded that they can manage these risks.
Nikkei Asian Review reported that aside from the U.K., New Zealand is also breaking away from the U.S. in terms of evaluating the 5G networks that Ren's company has been promoting. New Zealand said it has plans to consider Huawei's latest breakthrough without the help of the American government.
Furthermore, the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre has concluded that using the company's 5G networks comes with ways to reduce potential risks, two sources who have knowledge of the matter told the Financial Times.
Former head of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Robert Hannigan previously stressed that there were no evidences pointing to Huawei engaging in cyber activity with Beijing.
