Just days after the Chinese government launched a probe into U.S. express operator FedEx for re-routing Huawei’s parcels to the U.S., the embattled Chinese technology company and China Post signed a strategic cooperation agreement which will deepen cooperation and pursue mutual development in finance, technological innovation, express logistics and talent cultivation.
In a joint statement, Huawei said the cooperation will involve businesses including smart logistics, cloud computing and big data, with the aim of boosting the use of information and
communication technology in China Post’s financial, delivery and postal business, and accelerate China Post’s ICT digital transformation.
In addition, China Post and Huawei will jointly establish a laboratory for new technology application. The Postal Savings Bank of China, an affiliate of China Post, will collaborate with Huawei
to build an innovation centre.
Penetrating Russia…
In another development, Huawei has struck a deal to build Russia's first 5G wireless network.
The agreement with Russia's largest carrier, MTS, was signed on the sidelines of talks in Moscow between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The MTS deal will not only create "the commercial use of 5G networks in Russia in the very near future, but also contribute to the further development of economic ties between Russia and China,"
MTS President and CEO Alexei Kornya said in a statement.
MTS said the deal would cover the development of 5G technologies and the launch of 5G pilot networks in Russia this year and in 2020.
… while the conflict with the U.S. remains
The U.S. has been waging a campaign against Shenzhen-based Huawei, banning it from its own 5G networks and cutting it off from American software and components that it needs for its smartphones
and network equipment business.
The Trump administration has also been urging allies to restrict or ban the use of Huawei equipment in their 5G networks, warning that Beijing could use the sensitive data infrastructure for
spying. Huawei has repeatedly denied that any of its products pose a national security risk.
Huawei is the world's biggest telecom equipment supplier and the No. 2 smartphone brand behind Samsung. But the U.S. restrictions pose a huge threat to its business and could delay the global
rollout of 5G. The next generation of ultra-fast networks will power everything from self-driving cars to networked robots.
Nol van Fenema
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