Image: STRINGER (REUTERS)
The daughter of the company founder, CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was once targeted by the US judiciary, is to take over the rotating chairmanship of the group for the first time on April 1st.
Informed circles confirmed to the German Press Agency in Beijing that a successor plan for the 78-year-old CEO Ren Zhengfei should be initiated. The rise of the 51-year-old to the top of the company could increase the considerable political reservations in the USA against Huawei. According to press reports, US President Joe Biden is currently considering tightening sanctions against the company. Huawei could be denied access to semiconductors from key US suppliers like Qualcomm or Intel. The US claims threats to national security.
Attempt to curb China’s technological and political rise
But Beijing sees the sanctions as an attempt by rival USA to slow down China’s technological and political rise in the world. “External attempts to suppress and contain China are escalating,” said Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday at the opening of the annual session of the People’s Congress in Beijing. In order to stand up more on its own feet in the face of headwinds, China is pushing ahead with technological innovation by any means necessary.
The daughter of the charismatic Huawei founder gained dubious international prominence at the end of 2018. At the request of the US judiciary, the chief financial officer was arrested in Canada on charges of bank fraud to circumvent sanctions against Iran. The tug-of-war escalated into drama right from the start when two Canadians were arrested on suspicion of espionage in China. Diplomats spoke of “hostage politics”.
The top manager was held under loose house arrest in Vancouver for three years and fought against extradition to the United States. In September 2021, after a deal with US prosecutors – in return for the release of the two Canadians – Meng Wanzhou was able to return to her homeland, where she was hailed as a heroine. The chapter was only closed last December when US prosecutors dropped the case as agreed.
“Rotating Chairmen”
Without giving a date, Huawei confirmed to dpa request that Meng Wanzhou would become rotating chairman for six months this year “in accordance with our well-known management structure”. In the previous year, the manager had already been promoted to the third manager for the rotating chairmanship, alongside Eric Xu and Ken Hu.
Despite all the adversities, the tech giant said it was “out of crisis mode” today. There is talk of a “new normal”. Sales were stable in 2022 at 636.9 billion yuan (currently 87 billion euros), after falling by 28.6 percent the year before. At the end of March, the annual results will be announced.
The USA justifies the sanctions with Huawei’s connections to Chinese authorities and warns of the danger of espionage or sabotage. Among other things, the group’s access to the US operating system Android was cut off, which weighed heavily on its smartphone business. The extent to which the business has inevitably changed was shown last week at the major mobile communications fair in Barcelona, where Huawei no longer presented any new smartphones.
“Have a proven track record in cybersecurity”
Huawei firmly rejects the allegations. The telecom equipment supplier has been working with more than 1,500 network operators in more than 170 countries and regions for more than 30 years. “We have a proven track record in cybersecurity.” A discussion about network security is certainly necessary, but “an evaluation based on the country of origin” is “discriminatory”.
“Fortunately, Germany has a fact-based approach,” Huawei said. But there is uncertainty among customers and responsible authorities in Germany, which must be dispelled in the “new normal”.
Pressure from the US is also leading Huawei to diversify its business faster than expected – into cloud services, industrial technical support and services. It also goes into unfamiliar terrain: cars, health, education, logistics and mining. “Especially in Germany, the area of smart manufacturing plays an important role,” says the current chairman Xu.
With his vision, founder Ren Zhengfei has turned the company from humble beginnings into a global corporation. The question is whether his daughter can fill in the big shoes. In the rivalry with the USA, Huawei would prefer not to be “a geopolitical player” – but simply a technology company. But the question remains whether Huawei can “defy geopolitical gravity,” as Chinese experts put it.
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