Huawei has developed its own low-end chips for
use in entry-level smartphones and servers but
still needs U.S. chips and other components for
its most advanced products.
Liang said Huawei plans to increase this year’s
research and development spending to 120 billion
yuan ($17 billion). That would be a 20 percent
increase over 2018 spending, which already was
among the highest for any global company.
Washington’s decision to add Huawei to an
“entity list” of foreign companies that require
official permission to buy technology sent
shock waves through U.S. industry. Huawei is
one of the biggest buyers of chips and other
components and paid American suppliers some
$12 billion last year.
Trump agreed to allow vendors to sell widely
available technologies to Huawei. But Liang said
“we have not seen a resumption of supplies” of
components needed for its core products.
Trump has suggested he might lift controls on
Huawei if Washington and Beijing reach a deal to
end a tariff war over American complaints about
China’s trade surplus and technology ambitions.
American and Chinese trade negotiators were
due to meet this week in Shanghai.
Huawei, with 180,000 employees, has for a
decade fought U.S. accusations it might facilitate
Chinese spying.
The company denies suggestions it might
install “backdoors” in equipment to permit
eavesdropping. Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, a former
military engineer, told reporters earlier this year
he would reject Chinese government demands
to disclose his foreign customers’ secrets.