Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei hopes for improved US-China relations

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei hopes US-China relations will improve under the Biden administration over the long-term.

“I hope the new US administration will come up with more open policies that are in the interests of US companies and the US economy as a whole,” Zhengfei said during a recent ceremony.

“Trade benefits both sides. Allowing US companies to supply goods to Chinese customers is conducive to their own financial performance. If Huawei's production capacity...

12 February 2021 | Legislation & Government

HSBC faces court battle as Huawei seeks to halt CFO’s extradition

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is taking HSBC bank to court in a bid to stop the extradition of its chief financial officer to the US.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada in 2018 at the request of US authorities over claims she committed fraud by misleading HSBC in 2013.

Wanzhou allegedly misled HSBC and used Huawei subsidiaries to flout US sanctions against Iran.

Last year, Wanzhou’s lawyers accused US authorities of deliberately misleading their...

12 February 2021 | Legislation & Government

Ofcom revokes GCTN’s broadcast license and rejects transfer over CCP links

Ofcom has revoked the broadcast license of China Global Television Network (CGTN) and rejected its proposed transfer to a new entity over its links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

CGTN is an English-speaking international satellite news channel and must conform to UK broadcasting laws to operate in the country.

Under British law, broadcast licensees must have full control over the service–-including editorial oversight over the programmes they show. Licensees...

5 February 2021 | Legislation & Government

New York Stock Exchange backtracks on plan to delist Chinese telcos

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) no longer plans to comply with a Trump administration order to delist Chinese telecoms groups.

NYSE began proceedings to delist China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom last week after the order signed by President Trump in November.

The order is designed to prevent transactions in securities “designed to provide investment exposure to such securities, of any Communist Chinese military company” by any person in the...

5 January 2021 | Legislation & Government

Ericsson CEO continues lobbying Swedish gov to overturn Huawei ban

Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm is continuing to lobby the Swedish government to overturn a ban of Huawei’s equipment.

Ekholm has been vocal in opposing the ban since it was announced in October last year.

Dagens Nyheter reports Ekholm has sent a series of phone messages to Foreign Trade Minister Anna Hallberg calling for her to review the ban order by the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS).

Hallberg has said she has not had any contact with the PTS over the...

4 January 2021 | Legislation & Government

US set to approve $1.9B fund to help telcos replace Huawei and ZTE

US lawmakers are set to approve a $1.9 billion fund aimed towards helping the nation’s telcos replace equipment from Huawei and ZTE.

As Telecoms reported in July, the FCC officially designated the Chinese vendors as national security threats this year.

“Both companies have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus, and both companies are broadly subject to Chinese law obligating them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence...

21 December 2020 | Legislation & Government

UK brings forward its deadline for carriers to ditch Huawei

The British government has brought forward a ban preventing carriers from installing Huawei’s telecoms equipment.

Operators are banned from installing Huawei’s equipment in the UK’s 5G networks from September 2021, the government has said. The vendor’s gear is still banned from purchase as of 31st December 2020.

"Today I am setting out a clear path for the complete removal of high-risk vendors from our 5G networks," Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said in a...

30 November 2020 | Legislation & Government

Huawei appears to get a slight reprieve from US trade ban

Huawei’s business appears to be getting a slight reprieve from a US trade ban which has pressured the firm over the past year.

Huawei was added to the US Chamber of Commerce’s so-called Entity List earlier this year; meaning American companies are banned from doing business with Huawei without explicit permission. The decision was reinforced in July when the FCC officially designated Huawei a national security threat.

Although Huawei has increased the production of...

16 November 2020 | Legislation & Government

Sweden bans Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks

Sweden has decided to ban Chinese telecoms vendors Huawei and ZTE from its rollout of 5G networks.

In a statement, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority said that the “influence of China’s one-party state over the country’s private sector brings with it strong incentives for privately-owned companies to act in accordance with state goals and the communist party’s national strategies.”

Sweden’s decision comes after increasing US-led pressure to ban Chinese...

20 October 2020 | Legislation & Government

Huawei’s R&D lab near its new campus in Dongguan, China is on fire

A research and development facility owned by Huawei has caught fire near the company’s new campus in Dongguan, China.

Social media posts report an explosion at the facility but this is unconfirmed. The R&D lab is, however, expected to contain “sound-absorbing materials” like cotton which is highly flammable.

Videos of the fire are bizarrely being posted and quickly deleted. One video of the blaze which is still available (as of posting) can be found...

25 September 2020 | Telecoms