Huawei’s boss has long expressed admiration for Apple
Despite growing US-China tension, Ren Zhengfei remains a staunch fan of American rival
As the US wages what’s effectively a tech war against China, one would think that Huawei would support retaliation against its strongest American rivals. It turns out, though, that the Chinese tech giant’s CEO has a history of advocating just the opposite.
Ren suggested he may learn from Apple in other ways, though. During that same event in January, the Huawei CEO said he should reduce his private shares in the company closer to what Steve Jobs held at Apple. The call to learn from Apple and other US tech titans is a common refrain from Ren.
It seems like the CEO is eager to get his message across, even when other executives might have different opinions.
Ren has explained that he is hesitant to let Huawei’s ordeal impact his country’s wider interests.
“The national interests or policies around economic reform and opening up cannot be sacrificed for the benefit of Huawei,” he said in the January meeting with overseas reporters.
Despite Ren’s repeated praise for Apple, company executives don’t seem to appreciate iPhones being used at work.
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