Huawei fights back against claim in research paper that it is government funded and controlled
- Huawei says there is no state-owned funds in the company
- Comments also come after The Times reported that the CIA had told spy chiefs that Huawei has taken money from the PLA and other state entities
Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecoms equipment vendor, defended its independence on Thursday after a recent research paper questioned the company’s claim to be employee-owned, saying that the identity of the actual owners is unknown and may potentially include the Chinese government.
Huawei was responding to a paper jointly written by Donald Clarke of George Washington University and Christopher Balding of Fulbright University Vietnam, which said Huawei is wholly owned by a holding company, of which 99 per cent is held by an entity called a “trade union committee”. The authors say the trade union committee — if it is run like similar organisations in China — could mean that the telecoms equipment giant is owned and controlled by the government.
“The trade union committee, which manages the union in Huawei, organises some amateur, after-work events including physical activity, to ensure employees have a healthy work-life balance,” said Jiang Xisheng, chief secretary of Huawei’s Board of Directors, in a press conference on Thursday. “It is not involved in any decisions connected to Huawei’s business and operations.”
Jiang further explained that the trade union committee was established to meet legal requirements and oversees activities such as badminton and hiking.
Jiang’s comments also come after UK newspaper The Times reported that the CIA had told spy chiefs that Huawei has taken money from the People’s Liberation Army, China’s National Security Commission and a third branch of the nation’s state intelligence network, citing an anonymous UK source.