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Huawei, Google discussing solutions to US ban

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BEIJING: Huawei and Google are discussing solutions to restrictions placed by the US government on companies that do business with the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told domestic media on Tuesday.


“Google is a good company, a highly responsible company,” Ren said in an interview published by various Chinese media outlets.  He said Google and Huawei were discussing relief measures to a US Department of Commerce order last week that US companies obtain a licence if shipping products to Huawei.


The department late Monday announced a grace period of 90 days on the policy.  Google said on Monday it would continue to support existing Huawe ismartphones, which use Google’s Android operating system. However, following the restrictions, popular Google services such as maps and Gmail could become unavailable on Huawei phones, making them less desirable.


The ban also affects US chipmakers such as Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom. The companies have told employees they were cutting off Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.


German chip maker Infineon also said it was halting the supply of products made in the US to Huawei, but denied reports indicating tha tInfineon had stopped all chip supplies to the Chinese company.


“Europe is staying in very close communication with us,” Ren said, adding that Huawei’s 5G network technology fits European demands.


Washington is pressing its European allies against using Huawei’s 5G technology, citing security concerns. The US government says Huawei is aiding Beijing to spy on other countries — though it hasn’t presented any evidence.


The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Monday it opposed “abusing national security on the grounds of trade talks or of protectionism.”


Ren said Huawei, which is the world’s second-largest smartphone supplier after Samsung and before Apple, is able to withstand the pressure from the US.


“Our capacity is very large,” Ren said. “The company will not have negative growth, and this will not harm the industry.” “In terms of 5G technology, no one can beat Huawei within two-three years,” he said.


Huawei’s blacklisting comes against the backdrop of an intensifying trade war between the US and China. After months-long negotiations broke down earlier this month, the US raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China retaliated by hiking duties on $60 billion worth of US imports.


The trade war has disrupted supply chains and rattled markets, threatening to affect global growth. — dpa


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