相親失敗: 華爲不再對美國市場感興趣

Huawei has given up its quest to conquer the market for telecoms network equipment in the US, where the Chinese company’s sales efforts have been blocked by security fears.

華爲已經放棄征服美國電信網絡設備市場的努力。由於美國方面的安全擔憂，華爲在美國的銷售受到阻礙。

“We are not interested in the US market any more,” Eric Xu, executive vice-president, said at the company’s analyst meeting yesterday. The world’s second-largest supplier of network gear by revenue has shifted the focus of expansion away from the US over the past year.

華爲執行副總裁徐直軍(Eric Xu)昨天在公司的分析師會議上說：“我們已經對美國市場不再感興趣。”過去的一年中，華爲已經將擴張重心轉移出美國。按營收計，華爲是全球第二大網絡設備供應商。

US security officials and politicians have repeatedly identified Huawei as a threat to US national security – an allegation that the Chinese company has denied.

美國安全官員和政治家一直認爲華爲對美國國家安全構成威脅，而華爲否認這一指控。

Although Huawei has done business with 45 of the world’s top carriers, it failed to get contracts from any leading operators in the US.

儘管華爲已經與全球45個頂級運營商開展業務，卻沒有與美國任何主要運營商達成合約。

In October, a US congressional report officially branded Huawei and ZTE, its smaller Chinese peer, a threat to national security.

去年10月，美國國會的一份報告正式給華爲和中興(ZTE)貼上“國家安全威脅”的標籤。

Despite its success in other markets, including the UK, Huawei has struggled in the US for years because of concerns among politicians and security officials about the military background of its founder Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army officer.

儘管在包括英國在內的其他市場獲得了成功，由於美國政治家和安全官員對華爲創始人任正非軍方背景的擔憂，華爲在美國已經掙扎了數年。任正非以前是中國人民解放軍的一名軍官。

In 2008, Huawei retracted a bid for 3Com, a US technology company, after it emerged that the proposed deal would not gain regulatory approval in Washington.

2008年，華爲取消競購美國技術公司3Com，原因是交易無法獲得華盛頓的監管批准。

Two years later, Huawei bid for a multibillion-dollar contract to supply network infrastructure to Sprint Nextel, one of the top US operators, but lost after Washington intervened.

兩年後，華爲參與一項爲美國主要運營商之一Sprint Nextel供應網絡基礎設施的數十億美元合約的競標，在華盛頓干預下失利。

In response to these and other setbacks, Huawei launched a US lobbying campaign. It also hired a number of senior executives from ailing rivals such as Nortel and Motorola, in an effort to build a massive US research and development presence and specifically target leading carriers such as AT and T, Verizon and Sprint. But October’s congressional report made it even more difficult for the company to do business in the US, Huawei executives say.

爲了應對種種挫折，華爲在美國展開了遊說活動。華爲還從北電網絡(Nortel)和摩托羅拉(Motorola)等境況不佳的對手延攬了多名高級管理人員，主要是爲了在美國創建大規模研發隊伍，並把目標對準AT and T、Verizon以及斯普林特(Sprint)等主要運營商。但華爲高管表示，美國國會去年10月的報告使得華爲在美國開展業務更加困難。

Huawei also yesterday revised downwards the outlook for its enterprise business, its youngest but fastest-growing division. William Xu, the unit’s chief executive, said its goal of generating $15bn in revenues from the business by 2017 – a target set just last year – was “too optimistic”. The company is now aiming for $10bn.

昨天，華爲還下調了對企業業務部門的業績預期，這是公司最年輕、也是增長最快的業務部。該部門總裁徐文偉(William Xu)認爲，去年才制定的在2017年之前創收150億美元的目標“過於樂觀”。華爲目前已經將這一目標調整爲100億美元。