What To Do About Huawei? First, Some Deep Breaths…
When he was President of the United States, Ronald Reagan frequently quoted an English translation of a Russian proverb: trust, but verify. Simple, sensible, sound advice for dealing with any individual, company or government.
Given the reactions from Washington, DC and elsewhere at the mere mention of Huawei, however, it seems like guidance unlikely to be heeded anytime soon. And that’s both disappointing and short-sighted.
Huawei has been around for more than 30 years and employs more than 180,000 people worldwide. This includes some 1,500 staffers in the US, according to a December 2018 Wall Street Journal report. The company “posted $105 billion in sales last year, more than IBM,” CNN reported on May 20, 2019. Is it worth risking jobs and related tax revenues to assuage the overblown fears of a few?
The US, likely even more than the rest of the world, wants and needs advanced networking and cyber security technologies. The technology leaders in the race to 5G networks are Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia. None of these is an American company. All of them have done business in and with America for years. Yet only Huawei is targeted repeatedly as a threat, to national security, the economy, or both.
Some publicity and political hay has been made of the fact that Huawei was founded by a former member of the Chinese military. However, there are many cyber security companies founded by former military officers. In fact, those founders bring to their respective companies experiences not easily matched in the private sector. So are all of them potential threats, or providers of secret software “backdoors?” Or is that a threat that only comes from Huawei?
Huawei steadfastly and consistently states it is a private company, owned by its employees. It also claims it is neither run, nor owned, nor subsidized by the Chinese government. Even if Huawei does receive financial breaks from China’s government, those breaks are likely no more or less fair than those American companies receive as tax breaks and other government-supported “economic incentives.”
Despite numerous allegations and charges, Huawei has never been proven to have broken any US laws, or to have spied on the US or anyone else. Until and unless any of that changes, it seems only fair to presume innocence. It may seem naïve to some in this context, but it is a core element of the American rule of law.
Moreover, US companies and the country itself stand to gain much by finding ways to work with Huawei. Despite the current kerfuffle with the US administration, Huawei is doing lots of interesting and very valuable work around the world. The company is the undisputed leader in 5G, with more patents than any other company. It’s already installing 5G base stations around the globe. Huawei is also an industry leader in areas ranging from Wi-Fi 6 to smarter, safer cities powered by artificial intelligence (AI). And as Business Insider reported on May 20, “Huawei is the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, selling more smartphones than Apple and beaten only by Samsung.”
Given all of this, is acting on unsubstantiated fears and unproven allegations worth risking the sacrifice of tens of thousands of American jobs, billions of dollars in US company revenues, and technological leadership?
I think the argument against taking those risks deserves a lot more consideration and debate than it’s getting so far. I hope at least some within our government and among those who cover, comment, and report on technology companies and news think so, too. I look forward to seeing actors within both communities take a closer, less polarized look at Huawei, and to trust and verify what matters most to them and their respective constituencies.
