Huawei founder says U.S. sanctions both pressure and driving force

Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei Technologies Co, said the U.S. sanctions are both pressure and the driving force for the company basically establishing its own technology platform after four years of hard work.

Ren said in a meeting with students late August that before Washington's crackdown, Huawei built its basic platform with the help of U.S. technologies. After the U.S. restrictions, Huawei was forced to switch its platform, according to a dialogue script published on Tuesday.

But he said after four years of hard work from its 200,000 employees, Huawei has basically established its own platform. In the future, the company may not operate on the same foundation as the U.S. platform, but the two platforms will certainly be connected.

Ren said Huawei invests about $3 to 5 billion annually in basic theoretical research, working together with universities to study seemingly useless science.