A month before she was arrested in Vancouver, Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou wanted to resign and find another job, her father and the company鈥檚 founder has revealed in an exclusive interview with CTV News.
鈥淪he was not happy working here but after being arrested, this matter improved our relationship and now she understands how difficult life can be,鈥� Ren Zhengfei told CTV News Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme in a rare, two-hour interview at Huawei鈥檚 headquarters in Shenzhen, China.
The famously private Ren, 74, also defended his company and his own legacy, dismissing U.S. allegations of corruption and spying on behalf of the Chinese government as a reaction to Huawei鈥檚 global success.
Meng, Huawei鈥檚 chief financial officer and deputy chairwoman, was arrested at the Vancouver airport last December at the request of American authorities. She is wanted in the United States on fraud charges related to allegations she misled banks about the company's business dealings in Iran.
Meng is under house arrest in Vancouver as her case makes its way through the courts system. The Chinese government has slammed the arrest and Canada鈥檚 decision to proceed with the extradition case as politically motivated.
In his conversation with LaFlamme through a translator, Ren said his daughter has 鈥渃ommitted no crime,鈥� but her arrest will not impact his company鈥檚 relationship with Canada.
鈥淲e will not reduce our investment in Canada because of that,鈥� he said. 鈥淢eng Wanzhou is an individual case and I don't think it should influence in any way the relationship Canada has with Huawei.鈥�
Ren鈥檚 own relationship with his daughter has improved significantly since her arrest, he noted.
鈥淚n the past we seldom exchanged phone calls. Once a year we exchanged pleasantries because we were all busy but now, every other day we have phone calls,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e shoot the breeze, tell jokes, I tell her some anecdote I鈥檝e read on the Internet. The case in Canada made my bonds deeper with my daughter.鈥�
Ren also sees Canada as a 鈥渧ictim鈥� of the U.S. allegations against Meng and his company.
鈥�(Meng) didn't violate any Canadian rules and I think both Canada and Huawei are victims because this case hurts people in both countries and bilateral relations also suffered setbacks,鈥� he said.
Ren said he supports his daughter鈥檚 civil claim against the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and the federal government, alleging that her constitutional rights were breached when she was detained.
鈥淚 support her using legal action to defend her rights.鈥�
Asked whether Canadians who have been detained in China in recent months should be given the same right to sue their captors, Ren replied: 鈥淭his is an issue between the two governments. I don鈥檛 represent the government so it鈥檚 not something I can say.鈥�
Two Canadians were accused of acting together to steal state secrets in China and their detentions were widely seen as an attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng.
The extradition case has also strained the trade and diplomatic relationships between the two countries.
鈥淎s to how the Chinese government is handling this, it is the Chinese government鈥檚 decision,鈥� Ren said. 鈥淭he Chinese government also has the responsibility of protecting its citizens. As to our needs, we are going to use legal needs.鈥�
The U.S. government is also targeting Huawei on another front, with accusations of spying for the Chinese government. U.S. officials have repeatedly labelled Huawei products as a security risk, but Ren said he鈥檚 not worried that will be detrimental to his business empire.
鈥淣o I don't worry,鈥� he told LaFlamme. 鈥淲e will only do better because they have made big publicity for us. In fact we are just a small company. There is nothing particularly special about us but our strong rival makes us also look big so we have become more popular.鈥�
Ren denied that his company is under Beijing鈥檚 thumb, and said the U.S. accusations have made Huawei a 鈥渉ot topic鈥� around the world.
鈥淚 think should have paid them for the advertising campaign because Huawei has never been so famous in the world. They are advocating and advertising for us,鈥� he said.
He said Huawei does not 鈥渉ave the motivation鈥� to spy for the government.
鈥淲e have revenue of $100 billion a year so if we have back doors then our customers from 140 countries will stop buying our equipment and if they stop buying our equipment, our company will collapse,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd secondly our government has been clear, this is not something we do.鈥�
Ren founded Huawei in 1987 with $3,500. The company now has 180,000 global employees and produces 240,000 smartphones a day at the high-tech facilities in Shenzhen. Last year, Huawei鈥檚 sales surpassed those of California-based Apple.
But even though the past few months have drawn him closer to his daughter, Ren said he has no current plans to make Meng his successor.
鈥淵ou have to suffer a lot before becoming a hero and if you don't have scars, you won't have tough skin, so the political suffering for her is a big test for her. Her wings will become stronger, she will achieve more,鈥� he said.
鈥淪he has always been a manager and a manager is good at managing a wide span of issues. But for a leader, you need to have a strong vertical ability; you need to be able to see things happening in 10 or 20 years. This ability to observe the future has to have a technical background -- without that, you won鈥檛 be able to foresee things that will happen in the future. She won鈥檛 be a successor because she doesn鈥檛 have this background.鈥�
