"France is very important for us in the European market. (...) There are no other countries capable of being in the same strategic position for Huawei as France, in terms of know-how, added value and ecosystem", explains to AFP Weiliang Shi, president of the French subsidiary of the group.
Since its arrival in 2003, the company has continued to strengthen its investments and its economic weight in the country.
To the point of claiming today a "total economic footprint" representing 2.5 billion euros in turnover in 2021, nearly 10,000 jobs generated and 265 million in tax and social revenue.
Huawei also claims a 20% share of the French telecom infrastructure market, despite the strong restrictions resulting from the so-called "anti-Huawei" law of 2019, aimed at protecting the country's networks from "risks of espionage, hacking and sabotage" enabled by 5G.
"France has taken a balanced decision. (...) We will work in the cities where we have the right to be present. We agree with the French government", underlines Weiliang Shi.
In addition to the opening of six research centers and a global design center in Paris, the group will install "during 2023" in the Grand-Est region its first factory outside China for the production of equipment for mobile networks, in particular 5G. .
The president of Huawei France Weiliang Shi in Paris, February 14, 2023 © JOEL SAGET / AFP
After many "discussions", why did you choose to install this site in France, and not in Germany?
"Huawei has understood that at the level of the telecoms industry, France is even more important than Germany", replies Weiliang Shi, referring in particular to Alcatel and Orange as emblematic French players, past or present.
US sanctions
Stated objective: to generate 500 direct jobs in the long term and produce the equivalent of one billion euros of equipment intended for the European market per year, in a context of tensions.
Because the Chinese group has been in the crosshairs of the American administration for several years against the backdrop of the trade war between the United States and China and accusations of espionage, tirelessly denied by the company.
Huawei is thus banned from telecommunications networks in the United Kingdom and Sweden and several operators in Europe are turning away from it in favor of the European alternative solutions Nokia and Ericsson.
While sales of its smartphones have been "significantly affected" by US sanctions, the group is diversifying its activities, particularly in cloud computing, energy and the connected car.
"In the + cloud +, it is the United States which is dominating the market worldwide with Google, Amazon ... But there is always a place for other suppliers", underlines the president of Huawei France.
It also remains to restore the company's image in France with the general public, while footballer Antoine Griezmann, brand ambassador between 2017 and 2020, ended his partnership citing "strong suspicions" about the participation. from Huawei to the surveillance of the Uyghur Muslim minority by the Chinese authorities, which the company denies.
A Huawei store in Paris, February 4, 2019 © Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP/Archives
"It was really a misunderstanding because we really had nothing to do with the Uyghur affair. We explained it well to (Antoine) Griezmann but it was too late", regrets the president of Huawei France .
In the future, "we think our image will be appreciated, accepted and will improve a lot because crises, like for all (businesses), are temporary. It will pass, people will forget. Most importantly is to always look ahead".
© 2023 AFP