To the U.S. government, Huawei is a Chinese Communist Party front intent on harvesting private data for nefarious goals. To the Chinese, it’s a paradigm of engineering excellence whose founder, Ren Zhengfei, is feted like Steve Jobs. What’s indisputable is that the Shenzhen-based firm is the world’s No. 2 cell-phone maker and top telecom-equipment manufacturer, embedded in the infrastructure of over 170 nations. Huawei’s leading role in developing 5G, a transformative technology that allows an exponential rise in download and upload speeds, prompted the U.S. to ban Huawei technology and campaign for allies to do the same; nonetheless, that push has done little to slow its ascent.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Effective Altruism Promises to Do Good Better. These Women Say It Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- From Jan. 6 to Tyre Nichols, American Life Is Still Defined by Caste
- As People Return to Offices, It’s Back to Miserable for America’s Working Moms
- The Real Reason Florida Wants to Ban AP African-American Studies, According to an Architect of the Course
- Column: Tyre Nichols' Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
- Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
- Column: America Goes About Juvenile Crime Sentencing All Wrong
- Why Your Tax Refund May Be Lower This Year
