Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Huawei founder sees decentralised control as a way to beat US sanctions

Huawei founder sees decentralised control as a way to beat US sanctions

A newly published speech that Ren Zhenfei gave in June reveals the Huawei CEO’s thinking on strategies for surviving US sanctions.

Huawei Technologies Co. must decentralise its operations, simplify product lines, focus on generating profit, and maintain pay levels for three to five years to survive US trade restrictions, according to a recently published speech from company founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei.

Ren made the speech last June, but Huawei only made it public on Friday, two days after the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. The Shenzhen-based telecoms equipment giant has faced many obstacles in the past six months: the company was banned from accessing products related to US technologies
and services, it sold its budget smartphone brand Honor, and it doubled its efforts in new business areas such as cloud services and smart cars.

Ren, 76, said in the speech that US restrictions have made it hard for Huawei to implement its original globalisation plans and that the company was forced to make its own production lines.

“There’s a big mismatch between our ability and strategy,” Ren said. “It’s our weak link, and we are forced to start from the beginning like elementary school students.”


Ren said US restrictions have made it hard for Huawei to implement its original globalisation plans and that the company was forced to make its own production lines.


Referring to the Chinese proverb that “the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice”, Ren said Huawei is neither “a clever wife” nor does it “own rice”.

Ren’s speech was given in his typical style, combining corporate strategies, military terms, poetic expressions and philosophical language. The Chinese entrepreneur, whose business empire is at the centre of the storm engulfing the US-China technology rivalry, said Huawei will not be defeated or become resentful of the US.

“Please don’t be upset because of the temporary US pressure, or give up on our globalisation strategy,” Ren said. “There’s no future without embracing globalisation [in development and research].”

Huawei, according to Ren, must operate as normal and find ways to motivate people “under the principle that the compensation structure will not change in the next three to five years”.

Ren disclosed that “hundreds of Huawei cadres” have volunteered to be demoted. “It showed that our team is very good,” he said.

Huawei must also stay committed to research and development, the CEO said.

“We invest US$20 billion into research and development every year, but income is only 40 per cent of the input as 60 per cent [of investment] is burnt like candles in the dark,” Ren said. “But we are not complaining. We can bring light to others just like leading European, American, Japanese and Russian businesses did.”

Ren called on the company to remain focused, with an eye on profits.

“We must gradually shift focus from the top line to the bottom line. All product lines … must not blindly pursue becoming No 1 … we don’t have the conditions to always fight to be No 1,” Ren said. “We must create value and reasonable profits to ensure healthy growth.”

The CEO also called for the company to delegate more authority to local branches and offices. “Battlefield commands shall be made by those who can hear the sound of gunfire,” said Ren, who previously worked for the People’s Liberation Army. “Even without a central command centre, the company can still fight in a flexible way, and that’s the goal of our reform.”

Huawei has realised that the US wants nothing from the company but its death, Ren said.

“At the beginning, we thought we might have done something wrong in compliance and we carried out self examination; but then the second blow and third blow followed. Then we realised that they want our death … but the desire to survive has also motivated us”.

Ren had long sought to keep a low profile, but increased tensions with the US over the last couple years pushed him into the spotlight. In an interview with the South China Morning Post in early 2020, Ren said that he was not the spiritual leader of Huawei and that his “biggest wish is to drink coffee in a cafe unnoticed”.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
U.S. Tech Stocks Slide on AI Boom Concerns
White House Confirms Talks Over Intel Stake
Trump Suggests U.S. Could Support Ukraine ‘By Air’
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×