The chairman of Huawei USA has released a statement defending his company’s record and calling on the US government to carry out a formal investigation to resolve any security concerns.
In an open letter made public yesterday, Ken Hu said that…
The chairman of Huawei USA has released a statement defending his company’s record and calling on the US government to carry out a formal investigation to resolve any security concerns.
In an open letter made public yesterday, Ken Hu said that “misperceptions and rumours” had affected Huawei’s reputation and the US government’s judgement on the company.
He said: “We sincerely hope that the United States government will address this issue by carrying out a formal investigation of any doubts it may have about Huawei in an effort to reach a clear and accurate conclusion.”
Hu’s letter appears to be part of a concerted PR drive by the Chinese vendor in the wake of its withdrawal from a deal to acquire patents from the US servers company 3Leaf Systems.
Last week, the company accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the US (CFIUS), part of the US Treasury, that it withdraw from the acquisition.
It said at the time that it remained committed to long-term investment in the US.
Ken Hu also refuted what he described as “misperceptions” about the company.
He said that allegations that the company had links to the Chinese military was based on nothing more than the fact that Huawei’s CEO was once in the People’s Liberation Army.
The CEO, Ren Zhengfei, left the army engineering corps in 1983 and founded Huawei four years later.
On the question of financial support from the Chinese government, Ken Hu said that Huawei operated like any other private corporation, financed through capital from its shareholders and via normal commercial loans.
He did add that Huawei receives tax incentives applicable to high-tech firms and R&D.
