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Huawei remains committed to global market, says chairman

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 02 Mar 2022
Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping.
Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping.

Despite having faced challenges in the West in the recent past, telecommunications giant Huawei has no intention of “retreating” from the international market.

Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping delivered this message yesterday during his virtual keynote speech at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.

Ping told the audience at MWC that some have asked if Huawei will retreat from the international market, noting the company’s answer to this question continues to be “no”.

“We are committed to helping customers who choose us to achieve the greatest business success,” he said. “We will continue our globalisation strategy, in standards, talent, supply chain and more.”

He added that Huawei “will continue to be an active participant in global events”.

The keynote speech, titled “Just look up, let’s light up the future”, Ping detailed the company’s plan to continue its globalisation strategy and increase its strategic investment in foundational technologies.

Referencing the Netflix movie Don't Look Up, where Earth is destroyed by a comet, the rotating chairman said he doesn’t believe this to be the future ahead for Huawei and the industry as a whole.

“To see the future, we have to look up – above the politics, above the partisanship, above the rhetoric. Those who care about Huawei may ask: How is Huawei doing? Will it still be competitive, years from now? Will Huawei still help its customers succeed? I would say, just look up.”

Ping noted that digitalisation and carbon neutrality are two of the world's hottest topics, pointing out that Huawei is “increasing its strategic investment in foundational technologies” and “working with its partners to reshape the technological paradigm”.

He explained: “The demand for digital products and services has exceeded expectations. However, supply is a different story.

“The ICT industry also faces challenges regarding carbon neutrality. One project we evaluated showed that detailed monitoring of global environmental data could create carbon emissions equivalent to 12.5% of today's total. Further, digitalisation will result in increasing carbon emissions, but ICT can help other industries reduce their carbon footprints, 10 times larger than its own footprint.”

Ping stated the strength of the digital economy is roughly equal to connectivity density times computing power. “We need more than strength, we need long-term vitality. So, we need to consider a new dimension: carbon reduction.”

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