Huawei should not be scared away

Shortly after a U.S. congressional investigation report said Huawei and ZTE were potential security threats, three Dutch members of parliament (MPs) raised questions to the cabinet on the cooperation between Huawei and its Dutch partner KPN.

"In the U.S. Congress report, a number of incidents are mentioned," Liberal MP Han ten Broeke told Xinhua. "This is the direct reason for us to raise questions on these companies in the Netherlands."

Huawei is ready to face questioning by the MPs, said Liu Haosheng, COO of Huawei Technologies Netherlands.

"We understand the concerns of the Dutch government," Liu told Xinhua.

"Huawei is committed to cooperating transparently with any and all government agencies who wish to carry out an open and impartial dialogue about our company and the products and services that have made us successful internationally," he said.

The international strategy makes Huawei (the Netherlands) a very popular model among foreign investors for a long time. It has integrated into Dutch business society very well.

Xin Wen, CEO of Huawei Technologies (The Netherlands), got the certificate of appreciation earlier this year from the Dutch National Foreign Investment Agency as one of the first two Chinese Foreign Direct Investment Ambassadors.

"In Europe, Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei have been present for a long time already. It would be too late to stop them," said Frans Paul van der Putten, a senior research fellow at the Clingendael Institute in The Hague.

According to van der Putten, the parliamentary questioning "could increase the concerns of Chinese investors that the Dutch investment climate in strategically important sectors such as telecommunication might be influenced by the U.S. developments."

"This could form a barrier for Chinese investments," he said.

"The fact that questions are raised could also indicate to some Chinese investors the emergence of a more negative view of China's economic influence in the Netherlands," van der Putten said.

"Besides, there is a possibility that pressure from the U.S. could result in a more restrictive approach from European companies to seek technical cooperation with Chinese companies," he said.

But according to Han ten Broeke, questions and investigations related to the Sino-Dutch cooperation should not scare Chinese investors away.

"If I would scare away Chinese companies just by raising questions about the national security, then I think these companies should not come to the Netherlands at all. If you don't have anything to hide, then these questions will not scare you away," said the politician.

It is not the first time for Huawei to encounter questioning. They have to battle with all kinds of barriers, visible or invisible, on the way of internationalization.

"We, like many companies in our industry, have benefited from free and fair trade and the process of globalization, and we will continue to push for open markets, cooperative innovation, and equal opportunity for all companies," Liu told Xinhua.

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee issued a report, alleging that the two leading Chinese technology companies, Huawei and ZTE, pose possible threats to U.S. national security.

The move would make it extremely hard for the two companies to enter the U.S. market, despite the fact that they are operating normally in over 140 countries.

Huawei and ZTE, both based in Shenzhen in southern China, denied the allegations and accused the United States of obstructing Chinese companies from entering the overseas market.

Huawei has its Benelux headquarters in Amsterdam, having started operations in the Netherlands since 2005 and has more than 550 employees, 70 percent of whom are local. In Europe, Huawei currently has more than 7,300 employees, and creates over 6,000 job opportunities.