BEIJING: Huawei Technologies’ founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg that retaliation by Beijing against Apple was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move from China against the iPhone maker.
When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would “protest” against any such step if it were to be taken by Beijing.
“That (Chinese retaliation against Apple) will not happen first of all and second of all, if that happens, I’ll be the first to protest,” Ren said in the interview with Bloomberg.
He conceded that export curbs from the administration of US President Donald Trump will cut into a two-year lead built by Huawei over its competitors, but added that the company will either ramp up its chip supply or find alternatives to stay ahead in smartphones and 5G.
Huawei was dealt a blow last week with Google’s decision to partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android OS following a US order banning the sale or transfer of American technology to the firm.
The Global Times, a Chinese state-run daily, reported on Monday that the platform — named “HongMeng” — was undergoing trials and will gradually replace the Android system.
The US Commerce Department, which added Huawei and 68 of its affiliates to an “entity list” last Monday announced a 90-day reprieve, allowing some services to continue.
