Huawei founder opposes Chinese retaliation against Apple

AppleInsider · May 27, 2019 7:39AM

Ren Zhengei, Huawei founder and CEO, praises Apple and says he would "the first to protest" if there were any official Chinese trade-war retaliation against Apple.

The founder and CEO of Huawei, Ren Zhengei, has told Bloomberg that he would be against any potential Chinese moves against Apple in retaliation to the current US trade war.

Asked by Bloomberg TV's China correspondent, Tom Mackenzie, about retaliation, he said it wasn't an issue. "That will not happen, first of all," he said (in translation). "And second of all, if that happens, I'll be the first to protest. Apple is my teacher [and] it is advancing in front of us. As a student, why should I oppose my teacher? I would never do that."

He also took the opportunity to praise the company. "Apple is the world's leading company," he continued. "If there were no Apple, there would be no mobile internet. If there was no Apple to help show us the world, we would not see the beauty of this world."

The interview follows both a rising number of companies ceasing trading with Huawei because of US pressure, and predictions that potential retaliation could seriously damage Apple's earnings.

john f. · May 27, 2019 9:53AM

At least he's honest.

chasm · May 27, 2019 10:01AM

Well, he buys them for his family (because they demand them). I think that says it all, really.

Ciprol · May 27, 2019 10:06AM

A very mature and professional response. In contrast, the one is the Whitehouse is behaving like a spoilt brat, which he in fact is.

bloggerblog · May 27, 2019 10:16AM

That was very honorable of him. I wish more executives gave credit where credit is due. Especially like of Google, Samsung, HP, and Microsoft.

frantisek · May 27, 2019 10:48AM

We can just hope this will have influence on possible mass hysteria in China.

alanh · May 27, 2019 11:39AM

missing 'be' in the opening paragraph (before the quoted text)

tmay · May 27, 2019 12:01PM

Maybe Ren is has enough awareness to understand how he brought this on himself and Huawei;

https://twitter.com/Kate_OKeeffe/status/1132315879625166852

LordeHawk · May 27, 2019 1:15PM

At a time when Western governments are looking into Apple’s App Store, they should be cognizant of their actions. The true walled garden is China and they want their own App Store too...

GeorgeBMac · May 27, 2019 2:10PM

frantisek said:

We can just hope this will have influence on possible mass hysteria in China.

It's not hysteria. It's anger as the U.S. attacks their businesses and type of government. We would do the same and feel the same were the situations reversed.

GeorgeBMac · May 27, 2019 2:17PM

john f. said:

At least he's honest.

Yes, and he has integrity. It is the magic sauce in almost every successful self-built business -- from Carnegie Steel through to Apple.

A current day analogy is Musk's Tesla: You may not like what they make -- but you know what you're buying. Tesla stands for something and, while tactics may change and problems may arise, that commitment never wavers.

ihatescreennames · May 27, 2019 3:02PM

GeorgeBMac said:

john f. said:

At least he's honest.

Yes, and he has integrity.

How does the leader of a company that calls blatant IP theft “coincidence” have integrity?

dysamoria · May 27, 2019 3:18PM

For Cat’s sake, proofread. First frelling sentence...

chadbag · May 27, 2019 3:19PM

GeorgeBMac said:

john f. said:

At least he's honest.

Yes, and he has integrity. It is the magic sauce in almost every successful self-built business -- from Carnegie Steel through to Apple.

A current day analogy is Musk's Tesla: You may not like what they make -- but you know what you're buying. Tesla stands for something and, while tactics may change and problems may arise, that commitment never wavers.

Using “Elon Musk” and “integrity” in the same sentence is laughable. Every other word Elon says is meant to distract, conflate, deflect, or otherwise keep people from seeing and knowing the truth about Tesla. “$420” and “funding secured” anyone? Just the most obvious out of a whole bunch of things he has said recently.

shompa · May 27, 2019 7:12PM

Since I live in the area: The REAL reason why there is campaign against Apple in SEA is Tim and his politics and values that are not shared in the area. I understand that the US media tries to brainwash the people that Apple looses marketshare because of "boycott" against "maniac Trump". Nope. It is Tim. The wast majority in SEA can't simply support Tims values that are not normal. Apples CEO should NEVER talk politics or form the whole Apple company after his values that are not normal for 190 countries in the world. Tim, like most of his kind, can't accept that other cultures and people do not share his values. (that is why diversity is the opposite since only "the right" values are accepted. "right values" that changes due to time/culture. Kids today will understand this when they are 40.-50 years old and their values are "wrong".

tmay · May 27, 2019 8:07PM

shompa said:

Since I live in the area: The REAL reason why there is campaign against Apple in SEA is Tim and his politics and values that are not shared in the area. I understand that the US media tries to brainwash the people that Apple looses marketshare because of "boycott" against "maniac Trump". Nope. It is Tim. The wast majority in SEA can't simply support Tims values that are not normal. Apples CEO should NEVER talk politics or form the whole Apple company after his values that are not normal for 190 countries in the world. Tim, like most of his kind, can't accept that other cultures and people do not share his values. (that is why diversity is the opposite since only "the right" values are accepted. "right values" that changes due to time/culture. Kids today will understand this when they are 40.-50 years old and their values are "wrong".

I'm guessing that you couldn't wait to leave Sweden, per your post in 2013, for whatever the fuck "normal" country you now live in in South East Asia.

Buy, or don't buy Apple, for whatever reasons are appropriate, but don't expect your standard of living to rise if you can't, or won't, maximize the potential of your citizens.

normm · May 27, 2019 11:10PM

shompa said:

Since I live in the area: The REAL reason why there is campaign against Apple in SEA is Tim and his politics and values that are not shared in the area. I understand that the US media tries to brainwash the people that Apple looses marketshare because of "boycott" against "maniac Trump". Nope. It is Tim. The wast majority in SEA can't simply support Tims values that are not normal. Apples CEO should NEVER talk politics or form the whole Apple company after his values that are not normal for 190 countries in the world. Tim, like most of his kind, can't accept that other cultures and people do not share his values. (that is why diversity is the opposite since only "the right" values are accepted. "right values" that changes due to time/culture. Kids today will understand this when they are 40.-50 years old and their values are "wrong".

The current trade war is a mess. The objective should be to reform Chinese behavior relative to IP. No respected economist thinks focusing on balance of payments (????) and dismantling the existing world economic order (built with great effort by the US over many years) makes any sense at all! So far Apple has been spared by both sides in this dispute, but the idea that China might retaliate against Apple has tanked AAPL recently. You honestly believe the problem is that people are worried about Tim's politics?????

kevin kee · May 27, 2019 11:32PM

LordeHawk said:

At a time when Western governments are looking into Apple’s App Store, they should be cognizant of their actions. The true walled garden is China and they want their own App Store too...

They literally have a great wall... but of course, that's ancient. The new modern wall that fence China is something else, and that's hundred times more effective than bricks and muds.

GeorgeBMac · May 28, 2019 12:02PM

Hmmm, it looks like its American firms who are doing the spying, not the other way around:

FedEx diverted Asian shipments to its headquarters in Memphis:
"The two packages sent on May 19 and May 20 from Tokyo, intended for Huawei in China, ended up in Memphis, Tennessee, the headquarters of the U.S. company, by May 23, according to images of FedEx tracking records shown to Reuters by Huawei."

While for other packages:
"a FedEx customer service representative in Vietnam replied to their inquiry on May 22 when two expected packages did not arrive on time, saying: “Please be informed that FDX SG received notification from FDX US to hold and return the package to US. Hence, the shipment is not deliver to consignee and now being hold at FDX station and under process to RTS it (return to sender),”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-tech-fedex-exclusive/exclusive-huawei-reviewing-fedex-relationship-says-packages-diverted-idUSKCN1SX1RZ

Sounds like the Trump administration is getting a little desperate to pin something -- anything -- on Huawei to support their, so far, unsupported claims. Even doing what it is accusing China of doing: Using its corporations to spy on others.

jbdragon · May 28, 2019 3:26PM

GeorgeBMac said:

frantisek said:

We can just hope this will have influence on possible mass hysteria in China.

It's not hysteria. It's anger as the U.S. attacks their businesses and type of government. We would do the same and feel the same were the situations reversed.

China has been attacking U.S. Businesses for a very long time! If anyone should be MAD it's US with all the rampant IP theft happening in China!!! All the crap the U.S. has to put up with and doing business there in China. Hell if you have to go to court, the Chinese always wins over the American. Glad Trump is finally doing something about this unlike all the past Presidents. What else can we do? Not going to go to WAR with China. Words have done NOTHING. There is really only 1 thing we can do and that is Tariffs. I can live with that. Prices go up n things, Not a huge deal. What it really does is hurt China far, far more. Now these company's are rethinking things. Is it really best to put all your eggs in one basket? No!!! Now you have company's looking at building in other countries. The result of this is less money going into CHINA. The longer these tariffs last, the more damage to them. Some jobs will come back to the U.S. also.

Really, the longer this drags on, the worse for China. China who exports a ton of CRAP into the U.S. I don't have a problem just buying less crap. Taxes go up, buy less. Government says this new tax will bring in so much money and it ends up being a small fraction of that. Others are just doing what I do, spend less on that. Find a away around that. It took many years for China to get where they are and it'll take many years for other countries also. But just the fact that it's now happening and it's not going to just stop will hurt China. Trade is so unfair right now between the U.S and China that it's doing China far, far more harm. We have already had Tariffs on our stuff and other things outright blocked. I'm all for making things much more fair between the 2 countries. That happens, the Tariffs go away.

Tariffs used to also be the way the Federal Government used to be funded.

StrangeDays · May 28, 2019 3:27PM

GeorgeBMac said:

frantisek said:

We can just hope this will have influence on possible mass hysteria in China.

It's not hysteria. It's anger as the U.S. attacks their businesses and type of government. We would do the same and feel the same were the situations reversed.

Except we aren’t ripping everyone off thru IP theft and plagiarism, and we aren’t a one-party authoritarian regime known for murdering dissidents. How you apologists can be cool with all that exposes the true intellectual dishonesty.

Huawei founder opposes Chinese retaliation against Apple

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