Huawei Backs Out Of US Switch Market

When Huawei founder and co-CEO Ren Zhengfei granted an interview to French reporters at a research and development center opening in Paris last week, the press neglected to mention one rather interesting detail that came up: Huawei apparently intends to stop doing business in the United States. Zhengfei's words come amid a growing stockpile of accusations, conspiracy, and intrigue surrounding his company, almost none of it conclusive.

Although the French Press failed to remark on Huawei's US exit, the Chinese publication tech.163.com subsequently published the complete transcript of Zhengfei's press conference. Foreign Policy then translated the document into English, interpreting Zhengfei's statements to mean that Huawei has decided it's not worth pursuing the US market if that will hinder economic and foreign relations between the US and China.

A careful read of Google's translation of the transcript, corroborated in part by Foreign Policy, however, reveals somewhat less than a formal declaration of Huawei's exit from US markets. Indeed, the company has not issued a formal statement to this effect. What's more, Zhengfei did not explicitly state which specific technology markets such an exit would entail, if it comes at all.

Read the rest of this article on Network Computing.