Speaking to foreign reporters for the first time since 2015, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said the company does not facilitate spying by China’s central government nor is it controlled by the Communist party, according to reporting from the South China Morning Post and others. Ren said Huawei has never received a request from Chinese authorities for improper information and that the company always acts in the best interests of its customers. He categorically rejected the assertion that Huawei might be required by Chinese government agents to install backdoors in its equipment to facilitate espionage.
Ren downplayed Huawei’s role in current US-China trade tensions. With regards to the arrest of his daughter, Meng Wanzhou, who is also Huawei’s CFO, Ren declined to comment directly but expressed gratitude to Canadian justice officials for granting her bail.
