Ren Zhengfei, the reclusive, billionaire founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, has made his first public statements to foreign media in four years. Speaking at a roundtable briefing in Shenzhen, Ren denied long-running allegations that his company is being used for espionage by the Chinese government while praising President Donald Trump.
“I love my country, I support the Communist Party. But I will not do anything to harm the world,” Ren, a former officer in the People’s Liberation Army, told reporters. “I don’t see a close connection between my personal political beliefs and the businesses of Huawei.”
Ren’s intervention after years of silence (he last spoke to foreign press in 2015) illustrates the depth of Huawei’s current...