With the U.S. still adamant about continuing its campaign to restrict Chinese tech firms from accessing its resources and assets, Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies are now looking to other countries for their investments. Over the weekend, Huawei announced that it is now actively shifting its investments from the U.S. to Russia.
In a post published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University on WeChat on Sunday, Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei, was quoted in saying that the company was indeed transferring its investments to Russia. The executive reportedly told reporters that Huawei was increasing its investment in Russia through the establishment of new research and development teams and centers.
Huawei, which has already officially overtaken Samsung as the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, is the central focus of the U.S. campaign against China's technological dominance. The company was caught in the crossfire of the geopolitical dispute, and had severed its business ties with its U.S. partners.
Ren reiterated that Huawei harbored no ill will toward the United States even though some of the country's politicians had made it clear that they wanted the company to be shut down. He added that Huawei will never hate the U.S., as the opinions of some politicians there do not represent the stance of the entire country.
As the U.S. cut its access to core technologies such as computer semiconductors, Huawei has had to act quickly to ensure its survival. The company's chief executive officer, Richard Yu Chengdon, said at a summit in Qingdao over the weekend that Huawei was still struggling with the U.S. ban. He added that Huawei is still determined to find a path of self-improvement and opening up.
Apart from increasing its investments in Russia, part of Huawei's strategy to remain on top is through the further diversification of its business. The company is reportedly planning to shift some of its focus on its rapidly growing cloud business. Unlike its telecommunications and smartphone manufacturing business, Huawei's cloud computing unit still has some access to U.S.-built semiconductors.
In the U.S., Huawei suppliers are pushing for the Trump administration to loosen its restrictions on one of their largest buyers. Qualcomm, which considers Huawei to be one of its major customers, has been lobbying for the government to grant it a license to continue selling chips to the Chinese firm.
