Huawei wont sell its smartphone division: Huawei CEO confirms

It's been a long time since Ren Zhengfei, Huawei's founder and CEO, has spoken to the international press. Now, almost after a year of silence, he has done so again and has taken a stand on several points concerning his company. Of course, this also involves the tense relationship with the US government and the entity list on which Huawei is still on.

Zhengfei has signalled that he is willing to talk to the US government in a bid to reset the tense relations between the administration and Huawei. He said he is ready to talk to US President Joe Biden. In doing so, he is trying to show what benefits the US would also have if cooperation between US companies and Huawei were allowed again:

We still hope to buy large amounts of American materials, components and equipment so we can all benefit from China's growth.

The Huawei CEO also spoke out again on the rumours that have been circulating recently about whether Huawei is considering selling off its smartphone division, as it did with Honor before.

Again, he took a clear stance, saying, "We have decided that we will definitely not sell our consumer devices, our smartphone business." That should put this issue off the table for good then, at least for the time being.

"The iPhone 12 is the best smartphone in the world".

There was then also some unusual praise for Apple, although Zhengfei surely voiced that too for strategic reasons. Namely, he praised Apple for saying that the iPhone 12 is currently the best smartphone in the world.

Also Read: iPhone 12 Pro in review

In his opinion, the iPhone 12 is the device that can most clearly prove how necessary Huawei's network technology is for the US as well. With that, of course, he alludes to 5G and finds that Apple's 5G-ready models are proof of how badly Huawei's technology is needed.

Author's comment

I have no idea how this news will go down with you guys. Huawei's CEO no doubt wants to sound conciliatory, finding praise for Apple and spouting hope where the new US administration is concerned. Personally, though, I'm somewhat skeptical that this address to the international press, presumably intended as a charm offensive, will fall on receptive ears in the US.

To me, the attempt to point out the advantages for the USA sounds a little too transparent and too forced. How do you see it? Do you think that President Biden will actually seek talks with Huawei, or do you think, like me, that unfortunately nothing fundamental will change in the relationship between the Chinese company and the US government in the foreseeable future?

Source: The Verge