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$5,600 investment in 1987. He transformed what Workers eating also have a reputation for finding a way to make
began as a small outfit reselling Hong Kong–made lunch at the crazy projects a reality, like a 4G base station more
telephone switches into today’s 188,000- employee Huawei campus in than 17,000 ft. up Mount Everest to allow moun-
colossus. Huawei’s AI-powered factory floor churns Shenzhen, China taineers and rescue workers cell coverage. The com-
out a smartphone every 28.5 seconds. Its confer- pany plans to upgrade this to 5G soon.
ence center is redolent of the Palace of Versailles. For a long time Ren avoided speaking to U.S.
The ostentation is at odds with Ren’s humble be- media, but he has begun speaking up as the gov-
ginnings. He grew up hungry as one of seven chil- ernment action intensified. “The U.S. is taking us
dren in a dirt-poor family in China’s impoverished too seriously,” he says in his Shenzhen office. “So we
central province of Guizhou, and still speaks with a hope that through dialogues like these we can re-
thick bumpkin accent. He’s twice married and ad- veal the truth and better understand each other.” He
mits to neglecting his three children for long hours boasts that 14% of revenue and 45% of staff, num-
at the office. He established a foothold in China’s bering 80,000, is dedicated to R&D across 14 inter-
nascent telecom market by supplying rural commu- national hubs. Huawei filed for 5,405 patents last
nities overlooked by the large foreign firms, and is year—the largest number, by some distance, by a
famous for a customer- centric business philosophy single firm in the world. Forty percent of the world’s
inspired by military tactics. Former employees be- population uses telecoms that pass through Huawei
moan a cultish atmosphere where they are described equipment, according to the firm.
as “wolves” expected to “sacrifice” to compensate The U.S. government claims Huawei has made
for glaring inefficiencies. “It’s the self- immolation its commercial gains through unfair means—by, for
of employees that keeps the company running,” one example, stealing intellectual property from Amer-
former executive tells TIME. But Huawei engineers ican businesses. Huawei offered bonuses to em-
ployees who stole other firms’ technology, accord-
ing to a U.S. indictment filed Jan. 16 (the firm denies
‘If Huawei has something [the U.S.] this). Huawei has settled IP-theft cases brought by
can’t look into, then we’ve got some Cisco, Motorola and T-Mobile. In 2018, U.S. com- KEVIN FRAYER— GET T Y IMAGES
pretty dumb engineers here.’ pany Akhan Semiconductor sent a sample “diamond
glass” smartphone screen to Huawei for testing. It
—DENNIS HONRUD, WHEAT FARMER IN GLASGOW, MONT. was returned late, broken and with missing pieces,
36 Time June 3–10, 2019
