In fact, what American politicians really worry about is that the United States will lose to China in the 5G war.
The following is a summary of the article compiled by Tencent Technologies (Micro Signal ID: qqtech):
Following the tweet claiming that 'the trade war was good and it was easy to win', US President Trump issued an executive order on March 12 to block the largest M&A deal in the history of the technology industry.
Earlier, the Singapore chip maker Broadcom proposed to acquire mobile chip maker Qualcomm with a total consideration of US$117 billion. Trump said that this transaction was blocked because of concerns that this transaction may endanger US national security.
Trump’s boss Chen Fuyang, who was in a bad temper, was frustrated. To know a few months ago, Trump had praised Chen Fuyang in the White House. In addition, Broadcom is in many ways like Like American companies, Chen Fuyang is an American citizen, and the company’s employees are mainly based in California, and Broadcom also promised to relocate the company’s headquarters to the United States.
What is the US national security interest still wanting? Almost immediately, the topic shifted from Broadcom to the real concern of Washington: Huawei.
According to revenue, Huawei is currently the largest technology company in China, with sales of 60% higher than the second-ranking company Jingdong. Although the four major US mobile operators - AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint- - All were prevented from using Huawei's telecommunications network equipment, but this company is still the world's largest telecommunications network equipment manufacturer.
In the fiercely competitive global smartphone market, Huawei also has a place. It is these two factors that make many US policymakers feel so scared that they would rather make Broadcom a loser.
Chuck Grassley, who has long served as a Republican senator for the United States Congress, said he fears that U.S. telecommunications companies will rely on a Chinese manufacturer that he suspects has problems.
'I can't spell this company's name,' but this company starts with the letter H and ends with the wei pronunciation. Whenever this company gets involved, it will scare me.' '
Even Trump’s executive orders did not appease this fear, partly because of Huawei’s great success.
Although Huawei is now the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, it has grown faster than the top two Apple and Samsung electronics companies, and the company’s manufacturing capabilities and technology are now ready to go with Qualcomm’s fifth-generation wireless devices. Technically counterbalanced.
Huawei, which has more control over the 5G market, cannot take away billions of dollars of market share originally owned by its US rivals and will also charge high fees to other companies.
However, such as the Hawks, Glasley believes that the bigger issue is still national security issues. The Chinese government can enter Huawei's network hardware and software through the back door to monitor US citizens' phone calls, text messages, and e-mails.
As for why President Trump opposed Broadcom’s acquisition of Qualcomm, the White House’s answer was that no matter which company Chen Fuyang is in, he likes to cut spending. After acquiring Qualcomm, he will cut off Qualcomm’s R&D spending, indirectly. Huawei has gained more advantages in the 5G wireless standard and equipment development war.
The US Foreign Investment Committee (CFIUS) warned in its March 5 letter that potential M&A transactions will 'weaken Qualcomm’s lead to allow China to expand its influence in the development of the 5G standard.'
The letter also stated that 'As we all know, the United States is concerned that Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications companies will affect the national security of the United States, and that China’s acquisition of a dominant position in 5G will have a serious negative impact on the national security of the United States.'
In early January of this year, Texas Confederate member Mike Conaway proposed a new proposal called “Defending US Government Communications Act”, which aims to prohibit US government agencies from using these companies’ mobile phones and equipment.
Two weeks later, the US National Security Council stated in a memorandum that was revealed that in the course of the development of 5G technology, Chinese technology companies will be a threat to US national security.
The memo mentioned the names of the two companies: Huawei and ZTE. The committee called on the current US government to invest in the nationwide 5G network just as President Eisenhower invested in the interstate highway system.
Huawei refuted claims that the fear of US politicians about their intentions is a fear of nationalism. Huawei said that the company’s connection with the Chinese government is not as high as Apple or Google. There is no doubt that installing backdoors for spying activities in network hardware or software is undoubtedly a problem. Suicide.
Joe Kelly, Huawei’s vice president of international media affairs, said: “We have been in business for 30 years and have never had a security issue. Should the United States worry about us from the perspective of cyber security? The answer is of course no. . '
Before the U.S. National Security Council’s memorandum was exposed, U.S. operators had even been ready to cooperate with Huawei. However, within a day, Verizon Communications abandoned the plan to sell Huawei phones in retail stores. Prior to this, AT&T Pressure from the U.S. Congress has also given up on similar plans.
According to sources familiar with the writing of the memo, the White House is currently concerned that American wireless operators lack the financial resources to build four separate wireless networks. Unless Washington takes drastic action, China will defeat the United States in deploying 5G technology. In this context, Broadcom’s acquisition of Qualcomm will allow the Sino-American confrontation to fall in the direction of China.
A US telecommunications industry executive involved in discussion of the 5G policy said, 'This is the main concern. 5G is the new battlefield, but the fighter is not the protagonist.'
Of course, blocking the entry of Huawei into the country’s market will not stop the company’s development. Huawei currently has 180,000 employees, and most of them are technicians. Huawei’s products have entered 170 countries and regions worldwide.
Although it is still a private company, in order to convince foreign governments to sign agreements with the company, Huawei will issue two financial reports each year. In 2017, Huawei’s revenue reached approximately US$92 billion, far exceeding US$35 billion five years ago. The company's revenue this year will exceed 100 billion US dollars.
Huawei also has plenty of room for growth, especially if it vigorously develops the 5G standard. The US Foreign Investment Committee has stressed in its open letter this month that Huawei currently has about 10% of 5G patents, and the company has 300 best technologies. Personnel develop full-time 5G patents.
Huawei has invested 600 million U.S. dollars in 5G R&D and expects to invest 800 million U.S. dollars this year. The company has signed contracts with more than 50 operators worldwide to test 5G devices. Overall, Huawei's in 2016 R&D investment reached US$12 billion, far exceeding Qualcomm’s US$5.1 billion and Nokia’s US$4.9 billion.