Huawei doesn’t need US market, but wants to stay here

Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei is facing indirect government pressures from the United States that has resulted in the reported dissolution of three national retail partnerships — two of them with prospective carriers and one with Best Buy.

Intelligence chiefs have been urging networks to have nothing to do with companies linked to cybersecurity threats, including the current Chinese regime that has censored reams of content within its own borders and is said to have interfered in the traffic of its neighbors. Huawei, being founded by a former member of the People’s Liberation Army, is a keen target as a telecoms equipment producer and it was investigated back in 2011 to have breached trade sanctions by doing business with entities in Iran.

Channel NewsAsia reports that Richard Yu, the company’s CEO of the consumer business group, said that “even without the United States market, we’ll be number one in the world.”

“They cannot compete with us on product, on technology, on innovation, so they compete with us [using] politics,” he said.

Huawei the third-largest mobile phone manufacturer by shipments behind Apple and Samsung with 153 million units moved last year.

Yu now tells CNET that “we are committed to the US market and to earning the trust of US consumers by staying focused on delivering world-class products and innovation.”

“We recognize we are not a known brand in the US and we need to build our brand here. Our first step is to win the trust of consumers,” Yu goes on.

It isn’t likely that the US government will come into direct confrontation with Huawei, ZTE or any other companies it deems a no-go, but Yu says that he’s prepared to bring his case to the court of public opinion.

“The security risk concerns are based on groundless suspicions and are quite frankly unfair. We welcome an open and transparent discussion if it is based on facts.”