Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said that U.S. restrictions on access to technology would not defeat the Chinese telecom equipment maker and that the United States and Australia should hold off on buying Huawei's 5G network gear if they fear it is a security risk.
The U.S. has put Huawei Technologies Ltd. on its entity list, restricting American companies from supplying it, though it granted a second 90-day reprieve Monday. It also has asked Canada to hold Ren's daughter, a Huawei executive, to face U.S. charges related to sanctions on Iran.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, the 74-year-old Ren said he doesn't want relief for his company or his daughter to be linked to the U.S.-China trade dispute, as President Donald Trump has suggested.
Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, speaks during an interview at the Huawei campus in Shenzhen in Southern China's Guangdong province on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019. Ren said he expects no relief from U.S. export curbs due to the political climate in Washington but expresses confidence the company will thrive with its own technology. (AP PhotoNg Han Guan)
Here are some key points that Ren made in the interview:
HUAWEI WILL NOT BE CRUSHED
"The entity list will not crush us as the U.S. hopes. By adding Huawei to the entity list, the U.S. wanted to kill off Huawei. But we are not dead; in fact, we are doing even better than before. ... The entity list has not affected us as much as it has affected our U.S. partners. They used to supply us with billions of dollars' worth of components and were suddenly not allowed to do so. Their short-term financial results will surely be significantly impacted and their losses will be felt. After all, stock prices matter a lot to Wall Street."
5G DOESN'T NEED AMERICAN HELP
"Whether the (deadline for enforcing the) entity list is extended or not, that will not have a substantial impact on Huawei's business, because if you look at connectivity products, such as 5G or core products, we can do well without relying on American companies."
"The biggest impact of the entity list would be on our consumer business. There are billions of Android system users around the world. Banning Huawei from using this system will not ensure America's national security. If the U.S. still wants to ban us from Android, we may need to work on our own backup plan."
NO TO RELIEF FOR TRADE DEAL
"Many people in China still are very poor. I couldn't take it if those poor people sacrificed their own interests for the benefit of Huawei."
"I am not approaching this issue purely from my family's perspective. But we are not asking for a favor from the government to allow the United States to go easier on Huawei. If this whole thing continues, Huawei might grow more slowly and (my daughter) Meng Wanzhou might have to stay in Canada and suffer more. But I would rather take that instead of having the Chinese people, most of whom are poorer than we are, sacrifice for Huawei."
ENTITY LIST DESIGNATION TO STAY
"We think the U.S. government's entity list cannot possibly be revoked, because it isn't possible that someone from the United States will step up to revoke the entity list designation. Right now, attacking Huawei in the United States is politically correct, while helping Huawei even once would put (that person) under significant pressure. So to us, the entity list will be there for quite some time."
SECURITY RISK FEARS
"If people in the United States say your 5G technology poses a national security threat to the United States, then I am open to the possibility of a paid transfer of 5G technology and production techniques to U.S. companies so they can build upon it and develop 6G to speed up their own development."
If the U.S. and Australia "still have security concerns, I think they had best not buy Huawei's 5G or related products. Let other countries first use Huawei's systems and technologies, test it to see whether it is secure or there are security threats first. To me personally, 5G is just a tool in support of future widespread artificial intelligence adoption. So the tool itself is not the most important part when we talk about security."
U.S. PRESSURE MADE HUAWEI MORE FOCUSED
"At a strategic level, the U.S. entity list is helpful to Huawei, because there are some marginal, unimportant businesses or products in our portfolio. Now, with the pressure coming from the United States, we cut off those products or businesses and take the resources to work on major products."
HUAWEI LIKES AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY
"We hope we can and we will continue to be able to buy American components. Even though we may have the ability to turn out our own components or products, we would choose to reduce our own capacity so as to use more American components in order to contribute together to share the prosperity of society."
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
