From Monday to Wednesday, Huawei will be on an extensive European tour, mainly to showcase its 5G-based technologies to industry. This will cover how to deploy a private 5G network, how to connect tools to make them as efficient as possible, how to monitor an industrial site to ensure its security and proper functioning and how to gain efficiency in logistics management--a subject that should interest CFL for its Bettembourg site. Huawei's Roadshow has stopped by at Luxembourg parking its tour truck at Luxexpo the Box and to showcase what the company is looking to release in the future.
The tech giant invested €22,4bn in 2021 amounting to 22.4% of its revenues in its quest to be at the forefront of the 5G race.
Why is your technology truck here in Luxembourg until Wednesday?
Victor Qian. - We started with this kind of truck a few years ago in France and Spain. We received a lot of recognition from our customers and journalists. We decided to continue extensively, especially after covid. This year we have customers in Europe for 20 years. Despite all the discussions, our commitment is to be in Europe, for Europe. We continue to invest in Europe. So we wanted to see how we could help with the development of 5G, digitalisation and bring initiatives to Europe.
It must have been increasingly difficult with the US sanctions and operators' decisions to avoid buying core network equipment from your company.
We know these issues quite well, so we were prepared for them. The sanctions were put in place three years ago and we are not just surviving, we are surviving with quality. We don't rely on external developments to decide our own developments. It doesn't matter if yesterday it was Donald Trump running the United States and tomorrow it will be Joe Biden.
For example, last year we had a drop in turnover to €88bn (-28.56% compared to 2020, editor's note), but our core business remained stable. The impact was mainly on our smartphones, for several reasons, including the ban on using Google's technology, or electronic chips. But we are maintaining our good results (a profit up 75.9% to €16.27bn, editor's note), even in new sectors, such as digitalisation or the cloud. That is why we are diversifying our activities.
European telecoms operators have spent the last two years saying they don't work with you.
We work with everyone.
Not on the core network.
We hope that the treatment towards us will be 'fair', because we have been in Europe for 20 years. Our security statistics have always been the best. We have opened a cyber security centre in Brussels. But it is true that there is still an unfair and even discriminatory feeling towards us. We hope that the situation will improve. But we have diversified our portfolio and if we have difficulties in some countries, others will be and are happy to welcome us. For those, especially Germany and Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands, our 5G is ranked higher than our competitors.
But the problem, the perception at least, remains the same: how can we be sure that our data is not sent directly to Beijing?
This kind of perception is why we want to talk to all the players to tell the other side of the story. We are open and transparent. Our founder has always said that he would rather dismantle the group than have to transfer data. No one has ever been able to illustrate this idea that Beijing could force a company to provide data. Look at the law in the United States. Let's talk about the facts! We know we can't change what people believe. We can only serve those who trust us better!
In this truck that stops in Luxembourg, the starting point of a European tour, you show technologies that are very useful for Industry 4.0, and we can even imagine Luxembourg companies that are interested in this, with even fully isolated 5G mobile networks. Is this a way of responding to these recurring criticisms?
We had these technologies, the problem has not changed. They correspond to the needs of factories, ports, etc. They need the technology, the 5G and the data next to them to make the right decisions. These are of course opportunities, but they are not just for Huawei.
Yes, but with more and more production units using these automation and intelligence technologies, your company is becoming more and more "commonplace".
Yes, but we are still communicating in both ways, to the general public and to our potential customers. The noise will always be there.
In the two cubicles of Huawei's truck, a concentration of the technologies available for B2B, the group's new strategy. (Photo: Maison Moderne)
You are a tech giant and Luxembourg is a small country. Why start your tour with us?
I am quite new, I have been responsible for Belgium and Luxembourg since the beginning of the year. Luxembourg may be small, but it is one of the richest countries on the planet per capita. It is a very innovative country, including in sectors such as space and green technologies. It is a very open country! I met the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, some politicians, and I feel that the government is efficient, really wants to promote business. Luxembourg is very well connected and has a lot of talent, everyone speaks two or three languages. Luxembourg is a very special market for Huawei. Of course we want to work with Post, Orange and Telindus. Our strategy is to focus on B2B. A month ago, with another truck, we attracted a hundred company representatives in one day. We have very competitive technologies for digitalisation as well as for data storage and solar technologies for data centres. The country is very competitive and the market could be big.
Do you have precise data on your market shares and targets?
No. But we see sectors like space growing. We have an interest in local talent. We want to recruit here.
What for?
To develop the business of companies, also around greening. Today we have about thirty people working here. We also know that Luxembourg is very strong in cybersecurity and that talent is developing with the University of Luxembourg. We are thinking of promoting a talent development programme around cybersecurity.
I imagine that the cloud is another subject for you.
Yes, our cloud business is number 2 in China and number 5 in the world. We are going to bring cloud services to Luxembourg to help diversify the service provision. This is a very important topic today. Look at some of the equipment... Our competitors need 6 to 18 months longer than expected. From our point of view, we can have everything in a fortnight. That's one of the reasons why over 100 people came to see us the first time."
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.