Huawei Facts

We are disappointed by the decision by a number of universities to suspend their relationships with Huawei but we understand the pressure they are facing. Our relationships with universities aspire to benefit everyone with the innovation that comes from basic scientific research. We believe research should be free from geopolitical influence, and we deny the allegations made by the US government.

The procurement guidance issued by the Japanese government does not provide specific details regarding a particular country or company.

In a discussion about Germany’s 5G roll-out (on April 8, 2019), the German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her government will not capitulate to pressure from the US and punish individual vendors. “There are two things I don’t believe in. First, to discuss these very sensitive security questions publicly, and second, to exclude a company simply because it’s from a certain country,’’ she said.

This is a sensible and considered approach. We reject any suggestion from the US that Huawei might pose a threat to national security. Cyber security has always been our top priority and we have a proven track record of providing secure products and solutions for our customers in Germany, and around the world.

The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing in early April. Before the meeting, she restated that Huawei will not be banned from the country’s 5G network and that no political or diplomatic influence was sought for this decision.

Huawei’s 5G (equipment) is not banned in Italy. On February 7, the Ministry of Economic Development of Italy said it does not intend to ban Huawei and ZTE from participating in the country’s 5G build-out, and denied the allegation that Huawei poses a threat to its national security.

US security officials are pressuring the Brazilian government to prevent Huawei from inclusion in the construction of the country’s 5G networks, in spite of Huawei’s 20-year record delivering safe and reliable networks across the country.

Huawei is a trusted partner to the government and has helped its public institutions to go digital, building its first e-government cloud. Working with Brazil’s telecom operators, Huawei has connected more than two-thirds of the country’s population in more than 20 cities.

Huawei filed a complaint in a US federal court to overturn Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) enacted by Congress, which prevents US government agencies from buying products from Huawei and from working with third parties that use our products or services. 

We hope the court will rule a permanent injunction against Section 889 because it violates the Bill of Attainder Clause and the Due Process Clause; legislation at the heart of the US Constitution that upholds the right of anyone, including any company operating on US soil, to a fair trial and to due process of law. 

Above all, Section 889 violates the fundamental Separation-of-Powers principles enshrined in the US Constitution. It allows Congress to make, adjudicate and execute the law at the same time, overreaching into other branches of government. 

Without any evidence to contradict Huawei’s excellent security record and program, and without allowing Huawei the opportunity to defend itself, Congress has acted unconstitutionally as judge, jury and executioner. Therefore, Huawei has been compelled to take this legal action as a last resort.

We are disappointed by the charges brought against Huawei by the United States Department of Justice and we deny that we, our subsidiaries, or affiliates, committed any of the alleged violations of US law set forth in each of the indictments. The first charge concerns a civil suit between Huawei and T-Mobile in 2017 that was settled when a Seattle jury found Huawei not guilty of damages, nor willful and malicious conduct.

We are not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng Wanzhou, and we believe the US courts will agree. After Ms. Meng’s arrest, Huawei sought an opportunity to discuss the Eastern District of New York investigation with the Justice Department, but the request was rejected without explanation.

The allegations from the United States have not been backed up by any evidence so far. Huawei’s devices and networks are not a threat to the United States, or any country.

In the 30 years since Huawei’s founding, we have served over three billion people across 170 countries and maintained a spotless cyber-security track record. There has never been a single major cyber security incident. We have embedded strict security requirements into all of our systems used globally. We fully abide by all local laws and regulations in every nation we operate in.

As reported on January 11, 2019, the authorities in Poland arrested and charged two people with alleged spying activities and one of these people was a Huawei employee.

A spokesperson for the Polish security services said Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ISA) detained a Chinese citizen and a former Polish security official on January 8. Of the employee, he stated explicitly, “This matter has to do with his actions, it doesn’t have anything to do with the company he works for.”

Huawei’s corporate policy and our most fundamental operating principle is to abide by all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including all export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US, and EU.

Canada has not restricted the use of Huawei’s technology. This includes 5G and existing mobile and connectivity network systems. We will continue to work with our Canadian customers as usual.

The Meng Wanzhou case is currently in legal proceedings, and we trust the legal systems of Canada and the United States to reach a just conclusion.

The Australian government's decision to block Huawei from the country’s 5G roll-out is politically motivated, not the result of a fact-based, transparent, or equitable decision-making process. It is not aligned with the long-term interests of the Australian people, and it denies Australian businesses and consumers the right to choose from the best communications technology available.

A non-competitive market will raise the cost of network construction and have lasting effects on Australia's transition to a digital economy. In the end, everyday businesses and consumers are the ones who will suffer the most from the government's actions.

In fact, evidence of this is already being seen with the cancellation of the country’s fourth mobile network. TPG Telecom puts the blame firmly on the government’s decision to ban Huawei as the sole reason and cites the increased costs and added complexities of using other vendors.

For any country, fair and robust market competition is essential to strong economic growth. The Australian government's actions undermine the principles of competition and non-discrimination in trade. The government has not identified any specific concerns about Huawei's governance, security, or suitability to safely and securely conduct business in Australia, so we’ve been given nothing to respond to.

Huawei’s business is strong, operations are normal, and we continue to enjoy the broad support of our financial partners across the globe.

Huawei values each and every one of our partners. We make every effort to ensure that our collaborative relationships, including those with our financial partners, create lasting and mutually beneficial value.

To date, Huawei has announced a US$2 billion fund to implement a Software Engineering Transformation within the company. The fund will be used to build more labs, hire more people to improve our software and to allow for increased scrutiny of our equipment. 

Huawei has opened a Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels. The Centre will offer government agencies, technical experts, industry associations, and standards organizations a platform, where they can communicate and collaborate to balance out security and development in the digital era.

Our testing facilities in the UK, Canada, Germany, and Belgium allow independent experts in signals intelligence and cyber security to assess our equipment and our software. No evidence has been found to show a so-called “backdoor” since these facilities were opened.

Huawei’s equipment and software is the most tested of any technology company in the world. We want to leave no room for doubt that our equipment does not pose a cyber-security threat and that we are willing to be completely transparent.

Huawei has never encountered a major security breach in over 30 years of business. Huawei continues to increase investment in software development and to work in collaboration with countries around the world to improve the security of the global supply chain.

Vodafone decided to pause deployment of Huawei equipment in its core networks in Europe. This does not mean that Vodafone’s relationship with Huawei has come to an end. We would like to make clear the core accounts for only a small proportion of Vodafone’s 5G network roll-out and that Huawei is still supporting the company’s 5G deployment.

Vodafone has been a long-term and strategic partner since 2007, and we are grateful for the company’s continued support and recognition of role we play in Europe’s telecommunications market. Nick Read, Vodafone’s CEO, acknowledges that facts are essential to the debate on cyber security and 5G suppliers: “Clearly, if there were a complete ban at radio level, then it would be a huge issue for us, but it would be a huge issue for the whole European telco sector…Now is the moment to engage with the security agencies, with politicians and with Huawei to improve everyone’s understanding.”

According to two independent, international law firms Zhong Lun and Clifford Chance, Chinese law does not compel Huawei to install so-called “backdoors” in telecommunications infrastructure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has also confirmed this claim is based on a misreading of China’s National Intelligence Law.

Clifford Chance reviewed an independent verification by Zhong Lun, which found the relevant articles of the Counter Espionage Law, the Anti-Terrorism Law, the Cyber Security Law, the National Intelligence Law, and the State Security Law do not empower PRC government authorities to plant so-called “backdoors,” eavesdropping devices or spyware in telecommunications equipment.

When asked if China would request a company to spy on other countries, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told reporters that “this is not consistent with Chinese law. This is not how China behaves…we did not do that and will not do that in future.”

Huawei has never received such a request and we would categorically refuse to comply if we did. Huawei is an independent company that works only to serve its customers. We would never compromise or harm any country, organization, or individual, especially when it comes to cyber security and user privacy protection.

Huawei protects the privacy of everyone who uses our products and services. Privacy protection is just as important to us as cyber security.

Huawei is fully committed to expanding and refining a robust compliance system. We abide by all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including all export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US, and EU. This is both corporate policy and our most fundamental operating principle.

All of Huawei's business units have cyber security and user privacy protection offices. They ensure that privacy protection is part of our day-to-day operations. Protecting customer privacy, and freedom of communication is an essential part of Huawei’s Employee Business Conduct Guidelines (BCGs). Each and every Huawei employee around the world is required to learn, sign, and comply with these guidelines.

Huawei is an independent, privately-held company. We are not owned or controlled by, nor affiliated with the government, or any other 3rd party corporation.

In fact, Huawei is owned by our employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) that has been in place since the beginning. No one can own a share without working at Huawei, and as of 2018 there were 96,768 shareholding employees. Our founder, Ren Zhengfei, owns a 1.14% stake in the company. 

Shares confer voting rights. Shareholding employees elect members to form a Representatives' Commission, getting one vote for each share held. Then the Commission elects the company’s Board of Directors and Supervisory Board. At the last election in January 2019, 86,514 shareholding employees voted to elect 115 representatives at 416 polling stations around the world.

Employee-ownership is instrumental to our rapid growth. Over the years, it has offered an incentive to our loyal employees and helped us attract talented people. Unlike many publicly-owned companies, Huawei’s decisions are not based on the need for quarterly returns and annual dividends.

Huawei is a private company, owned solely by our employees. No third parties hold any shares in the company, and that includes the Chinese government.

We are a global company that works openly and transparently with the governments of 170 countries where we do business. We have commercial agreements in place with these governments, and this includes China. We sell civil communication products to the Chinese government, and that is the extent of the relationship.

Chinese law states that Chinese and foreign companies operating in China must set up CPC committees. In accordance with this law, Huawei had set up a CPC Committee. Our CPC Committee is not involved in any operational or business decisions.

Our founder Ren Zhengfei is a member of the CPC but this has no bearing on the business. To explain why, it is useful to put this into its historical context. When Ren Zhengfei was a young man, you needed to be a CPC member to have any position of responsibility, even as the head of a cooking team in the military.

Our founder Ren Zhengfei is a CEO who, like many other business leaders in the US and elsewhere, served in the military at an early stage of his life. Ren joined the People’s Liberation Army Engineering Corps in 1974 and retired nine years later in 1983.

As a technician in the military, Ren was assigned work to help build a factory for a French company called Technip Speichim. The factory was based in Liaoyang, producing synthetic fibers for clothing. It gave Ren experience of technology with a level of advanced automation that did not exist elsewhere in China.

The factory ran out of an instrument used to test the manufacturing equipment. Using mathematical inference, Ren designed the instrument and it earned him industry recognition and an invitation to become a member of the National Science Conference. However, Huawei’s technology has no relation whatsoever with Mr Ren’s previous experience in the corps.