Keen interest in 'Trump's bargaining chip'

At the sprawling Huawei Technologies Co. campus in Shenzhen, the food court’s walls are emblazoned with quotes from the company’s billionaire founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei. And the research lab resembles the White House in Washington with three black swans paddling around a lake. For Ren, a former People’s Liberation Army soldier turned telecoms tycoon, the birds are meant as a reminder to avoid complacency and prepare for unexpected crisis. My Broadband reports that this effectively sums up the state of affairs at Huawei, whose CFO (and Ren’s daughter) Meng Wanzhou, is in custody in Canada and faces extradition to the US on charges of conspiracy to defraud banks and violate sanctions on Iran. The arrest places Huawei in the cross-hairs of an escalating technology rivalry between China and the US, which views the company as a potential national security risk. Hardliners in the Trump administration are anxious to prevent Huawei from supplying wireless carriers as they upgrade to 5G, a next-generation technology expected to accelerate the shift to Internet-connected devices and self-driving cars. The company’s high-speed global expansion has come under fire for years, beginning with the US Committee on Foreign Investment derailing an acquisition in 2008. More recently, Australia, New Zealand and the US have blocked or limited the use of Huawei gear. Addressing the arrest and prosecution of Meng, economist George Magnus said ‘it gives Trump a bargaining chip’.

Full MyBroadband report