A key figure in the conflict with the United States: Meng moves to the top of Huawei

Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei’s founder, is set to take the helm of the Chinese tech giant. Individuals are not without explosives: Meng played a major role in the conflict with the United States.

A major personnel decision is pending at the senior management level of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. The company’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who has previously been targeted by the US judiciary, is set to assume the group’s rotating chairmanship for the first time on April 1. Informed circles confirmed to the dpa news agency in Beijing that a succession plan for Meng’s 78-year-old father, Ren Zhengfei, would be initiated.

Without giving a date, Huawei confirmed to dpa’s request that Meng will become chairman by rotation for six months this year “according to our well-known management structure.” The previous year, the manager had already been promoted to the third manager of the rotating presidency, along with Eric Xu and Ken Hu.

Are more US sanctions imminent?

The rise of the 51-year-old Meng to the top management position of Huawei Group may increase US political reservations about the company. According to reports, US President Joe Biden is currently considering increasing sanctions against Huawei, which could cut off the company’s access to semiconductors from major US suppliers such as Qualcomm or Intel altogether.

The company denied allegations of espionage and cyberattacks on behalf of the Chinese government, stressing its successful cooperation with network operators in more than 170 countries and its track record in the field of cybersecurity. A discussion about network security is certainly necessary, but “assessment based on country of origin” is “discriminatory”. According to Huawei, a fact-based approach prevails in Germany, but there is still uncertainty between customers and the responsible authorities, which must be dispelled in the “new normal”.

Huawei has already been denied access to the Android operating system in the US, which has severely affected the company’s smartphone business. The consequences of this decision became apparent last week at the major mobile trade fair in Barcelona, ​​when Huawei stopped presenting new smartphones.

Central figure in the US conflict

In 2018, Meng’s arrest in Canada escalated the conflict between the United States and Huawei. At the request of the US judiciary, the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren, was accused of violating sanctions against Iran. Since then, the US has brought several charges against Huawei for stealing trade secrets and violating the embargo against Iran. China responded to Meng’s arrest by arresting two Canadians on suspicion of espionage and was criticized for their involvement in the “hostage policy”.

The principal remained under house arrest for three years and he fought legally against her extradition to the United States. In September 2021, a deal with US law enforcement allowed her to return to China in exchange for the release of imprisoned Canadians. And as recently as December last year, US prosecutors ordered the case to be dropped, as previously agreed.

“Release from a crisis situation”?

Despite the ordeal, the tech giant says it is “out of crisis mode” and talks about a “new normal.” Revenue stood at 636.9 billion yuan in 2022, after falling 28.6 percent a year earlier. At the end of March, the annual results will be announced.

Pressure from the United States is forcing Huawei to diversify its business faster than initially planned. The company is expanding into cloud services, industrial technical support and services, and even entering unfamiliar areas like automotive, healthcare, education, logistics, and mining. The field of smart manufacturing plays an important role in Germany, according to current Chairman Xu.