Huawei chairman Guo Ping takes aim at ‘pernicious’ US

Huawei’s chairman says the company has developed ‘a thicker skin’ and can overcoming US measures to block growth.

Huawei had helped control the coronavirus pandemic in China, its chairman says Picture: AFP

Huawei chairman Guo Ping says his company has developed “a thicker skin” and is confident of overcoming US measures to block growth, while calling US actions “arbitrary and pernicious’’.

Speaking at the company’s ­annual global analyst conference in Shenzhen on Monday night, Mr Guo said: “The US has taken technological leadership as foundation for their supremacy. Any other countries or companies with more advanced technologies may put US superiority at risk.’’

He cited how Huawei had helped control the coronavirus pandemic in China, helping consumers, particularly those locked down in Wuhan for 80 days, to free videos and access for home work and home schooling and highlighting differences in Chinese and European provisions.

“On the second day after the UK locked down, their network went down too, and the European Union required Netflix to downgrade video from high definition to standard. China could cope with it but other places had to reduce the quality of their services.’’

On Friday the US Commerce Department introduced new rules for Huawei, requiring licences to sell semiconductors made abroad with US technology.

Huawei said the US actions undermined the industry worldwide: “The US government has intentionally turned its back on the interests of Huawei’s customers and consumers.’’