Huawei CEO confirms he won't sell smartphone business, praises iPhone 12

Clearing the air, Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei has announced that the company won’t be selling their smartphone business, something which was rumoured since months. In his first appearance before the international media in over a year, Zhengfei added that the Chinese tech giant hopes to do business with American companies for components and telecommunications equipment and improve China-US relations. He addressed his willingness to personally speak with the US president Joe Biden regarding the Huawei trade ban, as reported by South China Morning Post.

“Allowing US companies to supply goods to Chinese customers is conducive to their own financial performance. If Huawei’s production capacity expanded, that would mean US companies could sell more. It’s a win-win situation,” said Zhengfei. “I believe the new administration will weigh and balance these interests as they consider their policies. We still hope to be able to buy a lot of US components, parts, and machinery so that US companies can also develop with the Chinese economy.”

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Furthermore, Huawei CEO commented that the company “does not have the energy to be involved in this political whirlpool”.

Interestingly, he prised Apple’s iPhone 12 by calling it as “the world’s best smartphone.” He added that “High-end customers in Europe love Apple,” he said. “Since [Huawei] doesn’t have premium handsets any more, Apple’s phones have helped us prove that Huawei’s 5G technology is the best.”

It’s worth adding that last year Huawei let go it’s sub-brand Honor in order to keep the business growing. The company was also rumoured to sell its flagship ‘Mate’ and ‘P’ series but looking at the announcement made by the CEO, this might not happen afterall.