Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei has taken aim at U.S. President Donald Trump, warning that U.S. restrictions on its business “underestimate our abilities”.
Ren was quoted by Chinese state media CCTV as saying the company’s battle was with the Trump administration and not US firms.
Restrictions imposed by the US government last Thursday added Huawei and 68 other entities to a blacklist on national security grounds, making it difficult for the Chinese company to buy US-made goods.
Ren said he foresaw the clash with the US government, saying it was a matter of time before the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker threatened US interests and attracted retaliation. He added that the US ban has no impact on Huawei’s 5G plans and that its rivals cannot catch up with the company for at least two to three years, adding that US politicians have underestimated the company.
The U.S. ban meant it was unable to maintain its networks or provide software updates to existing handsets.
Reports suggested Google had reacted by suspending its business with the Chinese firm, undermining Huawei’s line-up of smartphones and tablets which run on Android.
There was some temporary relief on Monday when US authorities announced a 90-day licence for Huawei. But Ren said these restrictions meant little as the company was “ready” for such a move.
The US Commerce Department stressed it was to minimise disruption for its US customers and the firm was still prohibited from buying American parts and components to manufacture new products without a fresh licence.
