Fergie's Tech Blog

Huawei Sets Its Sights on U.S. Market

Ariana Eunjung Cha writes in The Washington Post:

From a fortress-like corporate campus in this southern city [Shenzhen, China], retired army officer Ren Zhengfei is building one of China's most successful experiments in capitalism. A mammoth operation with 70,000 employees and strong backing from the state, Huawei Technologies brags that its goal is to dominate telecommunications equipment markets all over the world.

Its current focus: America.

Fueling [U.S.] lawmakers' unease about the Huawei deal is that no one knows exactly who owns it. Technically, Huawei is a private venture, not state-owned. But the company won't reveal information about its shareholders except to say it's "100 percent employee-owned," with its chief executive owning 1 percent.

Research organization Rand Corp. said that Huawei has "deep ties" with the Chinese military. It is not only a customer of Huawei's, Rand said in an analysis prepared for the U.S. government, but also was a "political patron and research and development partner."

posted by Fergie @ 1/05/2008 08:26:00 PM