Huawei, a leading supplier of telecoms equipment, smartphones and other high-end equipment, has been a frequent target of Washington’s criticism in recent years over cybersecurity and espionage concerns.
The administration of former President Donald Trump banned American companies from dealing with the group, while his successor, Joe Biden, imposed additional sanctions, including banning the sale of new equipment to “Huawei” in the United States.
Thus, the company had to find new supply channels for semiconductors, which are essential components for the operation of smartphones and other electronic devices.
Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, confirmed that Huawei had replaced more than 13,000 parts with Chinese copies in the past three years, according to a text published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University on Friday.
In his speech on February 24, Ren added that the company has also developed more than 4,000 circuit boards for its products.
“Currently, our production of circuit boards has stabilized because we have a reserve of locally produced components,” he said, without giving further details.
AFP was unable to independently verify Ren’s comments, while a representative of the company did not comment in contact with the agency on Saturday.
In response to a question from one of the attendees, Ren said there are still “difficulties in manufacturing advanced microelectronic chips in China, so we have to find other ways to catch up (with the United States) in this field.”
He pointed out that Huawei spent $23.8 billion on research and development in 2022 and that the company will invest more in the coming years thanks to an increase in profits.
