Huawei Chairman Guo Ping said he agrees with comments recently made by President Donald Trump on how the US is lagging behind other countries in the battle for 5G technology.
Guo Ping told reports ahead of a Huawei event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that he agreed with Trump that the US is falling behind in the race to roll out 5G technology.
“The US is lagging behind,” Guo Ping said. “His message is clear and correct.”
According to Reuters, Guo said, speaking through an interpreter:
“I have noticed the president’s Twitter, he said that the U.S. needs faster and smarter 5G, or even 6G in the future, and he has realized that the U.S. is lagging behind in this respect, and I think his message is clear and correct.”
Trump went to Twitter last week saying he wants 5G technology rolled out in the US as soon as possible, adding that the US shouldn’t be behind on technology that is “so obviously the future”.
“I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind,” Trump said.
“There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future,” he added.
“I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology.”
Trump is reportedly considering banning companies in the US from using Huawei technology over concerns that the technology could be used for espionage. Huawei products have already been banned for US government use by the Trump administration.
Guo said that the company has never and will never allow backdoors in its equipment, adding that Huawei will never violate any rules and regulations in the countries where it operates.
Guo also said that if an executive order were to be made that bars the company from selling its technology in the US it would have little impact on the tech giant.
“In 2018 Huawei had revenues of over 100 billion dollars. The share of US in this is really small. That means the US market can be ignored by us,” Guo Ping told reporters.