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'We will continue to step up our investment': Huawei committed to Canada, regardless of 5G review

Liang Hua (centre), Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors, sits with Eric Li (second left), President of Huawei Technologies Canada and Mr Christian Chua (far right) President of R & D Huawei Technologies Canada, as they attend a media roundtable event in Toronto, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
Liang Hua (centre), Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors, sits with Eric Li (second left), President of Huawei Technologies Canada and Mr Christian Chua (far right) President of R & D Huawei Technologies Canada, as they attend a media roundtable event in Toronto, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. says it is committed to investing in research and development in Canada, regardless of whether the federal government decides to ban the company from supplying equipment for 5G networks.

Speaking to a media roundtable at a Toronto hotel on Thursday, Huawei’s board chairman Liang Hua told reporters through a translator that the Chinese telecommunications giant was committed to maintaining and growing its business in Canada, one that has spanned the last decade.

“We will continue to step up our investments in research and development in Canada,” Liang said.

“No matter what their decision will be… Huawei will be committed to bringing our 5G technology, solutions and products to the Canadian market and customers.”

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The Canadian government is in the midst of conducting a security review of Huawei, looking specifically at the equipment it supplies for the development of 5G telecom networks. Currently, BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have partnered with and use Huawei technology.

And Huawei is planning on growing its presence in Canada. The company announced Thursday that it will boost its research and development investment in Canada by 15 per cent from $180 million in 2018, while at the same time increasing its Canadian workforce by 200 employees. Huawei also said it will change its investment practices in Canada to ensure intellectual property developed in partnership with Canadian universities remains in the country.

The nearly two-hour roundtable with members of the North American media comes as the telecommunications company faces significant scrutiny and a battered reputation around the world over security concerns related to the rollout of 5G mobile networks.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that the U.S. would not be able to partner with or share information with companies that adopt Huawei technology.

“We’re not going to put American information at risk,” Pompeo said.

Liang said cyber security remains a significant challenge not just for telecommunications companies, but the entire world, and that Huawei remains compliant with all cyber security and privacy protection laws in Canada.

“Huawei would never do anything to harm any country, any organization or any individual,” Liang said. He also added that the government should partner with telecom operators and vendors to create clearly defined rules that will help build confidence among the public in networks.

Huawei has also been at the heart of strained relationships between Canada and China since the company’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in December on behalf of U.S. authorities for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

On Thursday, Liang pointed to comments made by now-former Ambassador John McCallum, who had said Meng has good arguments on her side due in part to comments made by U.S. president Donald Trump.

“Even the former Canadian ambassador said Ms. Meng has a good defense of the political character of the U.S. extradition request, so I cannot say the U.S. charges against Ms. Weng are not political,” he said, adding that there are “problem that need to be solved” between Canada and China.

“To be honest, the current relationship between China and Canada is not ideal.”

Still, he insisted that Meng’s arrest and potential 5G bans will not impact the company’s investments in research and development and expansion plans in Canada.

“The approach has nothing to do with the 5G projects in Canada,” he said. But he hopes the government’s decision will be based “on technology instead of other factors.” If it the company does end up being banned from participating in the Canadian 5G market, it has other options.

“If Huawei were to be excluded from the deployment of 5G in the country, then there are still customers that will choose us,” he said. “In that case, we will continue to provide good services to those customers that have chosen us.”

With files from Reuters.

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