Huawei CEO: 90-day license bears little meaning, Huawei is ready

The 90-day temporary general license for Huawei "bears little meaning" and Huawei is fully prepared, said Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei on Tuesday.

Ren made the statement in a group interview with China Media Group, adding Huawei is grateful for U.S. enterprises' contributions to them, and many of his counselors are from U.S. companies such as IBM.

Huawei's CEO Ren Zhengfei speaks to Chinese media on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. [Photo: CGTN]

Focus on our own business

What the U.S. government intends to do is beyond our control, and for Huawei, what counts is to make sure the job is properly done, Ren told reporters.

"We received entity control from the U.S. a year ago, but this has no close bearing on U.S. companies, U.S. politicians are the ones to blame, and their actions underestimate our strength," said Ren.

Ren also expressed confidence in Huawei's 5G competence, saying it will not be affected by the restrictions.

He predicted that no other parties would be able to catch up with the company in 5G technology in the next two to three years.

U.S. chips still Huawei's choice

The CEO stressed the company will not rashly or narrowly exclude the use of U.S. chips, and at the same time appealed for the common development of chip technology.

He said Huawei makes half of its chips itself, while the other half come from the U.S., adding that Huawei will not be isolated from the world.

"We can make the same chips like the U.S. counterparts. However, that doesn't mean we will not buy U.S. chips."

"We do need to learn from U.S. technology in terms of width and depth. But in the 5G area, Huawei is at the forefront, although it can't be denied that there is still a huge gap between China and (the) U.S. on the whole," he noted.

"We sacrifice ourselves and families in the pursuit of a dream to stand on top of the world, which would clash with (the) U.S. sooner or later," Ren said.

Do not incite nationalist sentiment

There are currently two main attitudes towards Huawei, Ren said: some bolster the company driven by patriotism, while others deem that Huawei is holding society's patriotic feelings hostage.

Ren urged against inciting nationalist sentiment, arguing that buying Huawei's products should not be tied simply to patriotism.