Founder & CEO, Huawei
Huawei CEO: "US companies will suffer the most"
Watch the full interview on Global Conversation with Huawei's founder Zhengfei Ren. He explains how the US allegations that the companies equipment could be used for spying, has had little impact on Huawei's business.…
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About Ren Zhengfei
Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, appeared in a livestream on May 25, 2026, to present the company's Tau (τ) Scaling Law, a new principle for semiconductor development. During the event, he stated that Huawei had shifted from geometric scaling to "time scaling" as a guiding principle for electronic system evolution. He said the company had spent six years preparing tools and methodologies, including EDA tools and design approaches, and that a "surprise" for the industry would be delivered in winter 2026, describing it as "a big leap ahead." Zhengfei discussed the introduction of "logical folding," a design methodology for digital circuits that he said optimizes power, performance, density, and cost. He claimed that in 2026, logical folding achieved 238 million transistors per square millimeter in a single step, with a 41% improvement in power efficiency and a nearly 13% increase in maximum clock frequency. He also announced a new bus protocol called UB, which he said unifies interconnect across computer systems. He projected that by 2031, Huawei's high-end chips based on the Tau law would have transistor density equivalent to 14 Å (1.4 nm) processes, with CPU core frequencies exceeding 5 GHz.
Transcript (26 segments)
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Narrator0:14
Just over 30 years ago, the telecoms giant Huawei was founded here in China by Ren Zhengfei, going on to enjoy global success. But I'm here at his headquarters in Shenzhen to meet him as the company faces some intense scrutiny. Huawei's been on a US trade blacklist since May amid suspicions that its equipment could be used to spy and questions about its ties with the Chinese government.
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Interviewer0:41
Ren Zhengfei, thank you very much indeed for joining us on the Global Conversation. What I really want to know is how you developed a company in China when actually at one point the Chinese state, the government, really didn't like you, did they? They wanted to close you down, didn't they?
R
Ren Zhengfei0:58
Yes, the government didn't know us very well when we first started out because we adopted the employee stock ownership plan, under which employees own the company's capital. By nature, we might have been misunderstood as a capitalist company, which was not in line with socialism. These misunderstandings began to disappear over ten years ago as we paid an increasing amount of tax to the government. We now pay a total of 20 billion US dollars of tax to governments around the world every year, most of which goes to the Chinese government.
I
Interviewer1:40
The US is embroiled in a trade war with China at the moment. You have the US administration accusing Huawei of possibly using its technology to spy on other countries. How do you respond to that?
R
Ren Zhengfei1:57
The US-China trade dispute has nothing to do with us. We haven't had any sales in the US, and US cyber and information security has nothing to do with us. It's the fact that the US networks and information are not safe, even though no Huawei technology is present in them. Make my job and check if we were involved in any security issues, the US would have used them as evidence. In the end, we haven't done anything, nor would we need to. History is sound that we haven't done anything.
I
Interviewer2:34
So you're saying that Huawei has never spied, never will spy, and has never been asked to spy?
R
Ren Zhengfei2:40
Yes, definitely.
I
Interviewer2:43
What would you say to those critics that say Huawei is meddled in by the Chinese government, it carries out espionage, spying, it's not a company we should trust?
R
Ren Zhengfei2:55
We don't say anything to them. The facts will determine whether those critics are right or wrong.
I
Interviewer3:00
The US allegations, they're deeply damaging for you, are they?
R
Ren Zhengfei3:05
I don't think the US allegations have hurt us that much. The lobbying of so many politicians around the world has had a positive impact. Seeing such a powerful country attack Huawei, customers in many countries take that as a sign of Huawei's strength. There won't be any financial risks; our growth won't be that bad. Some customers choose not to buy from Huawei, this is understandable. There are also many customers who continue to buy.
I
Interviewer3:31
How have you tried to engage with the US administration about this?
R
Ren Zhengfei3:33
We chose to file a lawsuit against the US government in court. Ultimately, it will be US companies that suffer most. US companies will lose many parts of Chinese markets. This is not in their best interest. If the US gives up on globalization, it would give Europe a huge opportunity.
I
Interviewer3:55
As you look to the future, obviously 5G is a big part of your business. Is it a game changer in your view? How is it going to change our lives?
R
Ren Zhengfei4:01
5G is like the difference between roads and highways. Cars can run on both, but they can go fast on highways. I'll give you a slightly abstract example to show you what kind of value 5G can bring to our lives. An Airbus A320 has signaling cables weighing about 17 tons. If wireless networks rather than cables were used to connect the various types of equipment in the airplane, the airplane would be far lighter and need far less fuel. In addition, flight conditions would be improved. That would create tremendous value.
I
Interviewer4:52
Let's just change to that. The European Union very recently published a report about cybersecurity and 5G. This report concluded that there could be an increased exposure to attacks because of 5G, and they were saying that attacks could come from non-EU states and state-backed actions. How risky is 5G in reality?
R
Ren Zhengfei5:13
How risky is driving a car? You may get into an accident if you drive too fast. If you drive a car responsibly, it can take you to many beautiful places. It's the same for 5G. Huawei is trying to reassure Europeans by complying with the EU cybersecurity management and regulations, the General Data Protection Regulation, and all other EU laws and regulations.
I
Interviewer5:43
What kind of relationship do you want to have with the European Union with 5G and other future digital technologies?
R
Ren Zhengfei5:50
First, Huawei respects and supports EU digital sovereignty. Second, we would also invest in and support the growth of European SMEs and offer guidance where we can. This kind of cooperation will lead to shared success for all. We aim to provide fertile soil in Europe, and then European companies can plant crops in it.
I
Interviewer6:18
Of course, one of the big political earthquakes in the European Union has been Brexit. Do you worry as a big telecoms company that it could affect you?
R
Ren Zhengfei6:26
Brexit won't affect Huawei at all. It's the population that affects us. Everyone needs telecom services, and if there aren't any changes in the population, then Brexit is going to have an impact on us. We just need to do what we do well.
I
Interviewer6:53
Closer to home, there's obviously been the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong. From a business perspective, how worrying is the instability in Hong Kong for your business and this region, do you think?
R
Ren Zhengfei7:06
Hong Kong is tiny, so its impact on the world is not as big as some might have imagined. In my opinion, demonstrators should use words to peacefully express their opinions, which is an important aspect of capitalist democracy. No country in the world will ever support vandalism.
I
Interviewer7:28
You're 75 years old now. When are you going to finally throw that hat on the floor and say, 'Okay, it's enough now'?
R
Ren Zhengfei7:37
When I become slow in thinking, and when the US government lets me retire.
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Interviewer7:47
Ren Zhengfei, thank you very much indeed for talking to us on the Global Conversation. Thank you.