In a rare press conference inside its Dongguan facilities, Huawei Technologies said it would spend $2 billion over the next five years to concentrate on cybersecurity initiatives, according to a report by Reuters.
This would include hiring more people and enhancing lab operations, as the company tries to counteract some of the negative publicity that’s connected to its network equipment.
The company has been basically excluded from the U.S. market over concerns that its gear could aid Chinese spying. Other countries, including New Zealand and Australia, have taken similar measures against the telecommunications giant.
“Locking out competitors from a playing field cannot make yourself better. We think any concerns or allegations on security at Huawei should be based on factual evidence,” said Chairman Ken Hu. “Without factual evidence, we don’t accept and we oppose those allegations.”
Hu said the company was reaching out to governments all over the world about his company’s independence, adding that Japan and France hadn’t officially banned Huawei equipment. Reuters, however, reported that Japan had indeed planned to ban the equipment. France is also considering adding Huawei equipment to a “high alert” list.
During the tour, Hu told reporters that Huawei snagged more than 25 commercial contracts for its 5G technology, and that it had shipped more than 10,000 base stations for the tech. He expects the company’s revenue to be more than $100 billion for 2018, an increase of 8.7 percent from the previous year.
Most of Huawei’s recent news has focused on the arrest of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada, at the behest of American authorities. She is accused of finagling banks into moving money and evading sanctions against Iran.
Hu said he looks forward to a just conclusion in the case. Meng has said she is innocent and will fight the charges if she is brought to the U.S.
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