Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, defended the Chinese firm's stand on US cyber-security concerns in his first-ever address to the media yesterday.
Zhengfei has avoided the press since he founded Huawei 26 years ago, fuelling 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 US has encountered in the past, current and future," Zhengfei 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 US. We have never sold any key equipment to major US carriers, nor have we sold any equipment to any US government agency," Ren said.
Huawei is the world's second-largest telecom equipment maker behind Sweden's Ericsson, but it has failed to sell its telecom gear in the massive US market due to US national security concerns.
The US$35 billion company, which is also the world's fifth largest smartphone maker, has also been barred from taking part in supplying Australia's and Canada's government networks.
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