Huawei Founder Denies His Firm Spies For China

The founder and CEO of Huawei denies his company spies for China. In a rare public appearance at the tech company’s campus in Shenzhen, Ren Zhengfei told reporters he would refuse to share user data with the government if asked, and he said he misses his daughter, who is in Canada facing possible extradition to the U.S.

“No law requires any company in China to install mandatory backdoors,” Ren said Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. “I personally would never harm the interest of my customers and me and my company would not answer to such requests.”

Ren has not spoken publicly for years, The Journal notes. His comments to foreign media bear extra weight at a time where China appears to be playing a game of brinkmanship with the U.S., Canada and other trading partners. It’s a fight that has threatened the life of a Canadian citizen and may cloud Huawei’s ability to expand in western nations.

Huawei is China’s largest telecom equipment maker. Its sales recently surpassed Apple. But the U.S. has warned that Huawei has possible ties to Chinese intelligence and has urged allies not to use Huawei equipment as they build sophisticated 5G communications networks, NPR reports. Claims against Huawei date back at least seven years, NPR’s Bill Chappell writes, when the House Intelligence Committee published a report that criticized Huawei over its ties to the Chinese government and possibly the military.