Huawei Technologies plans to shift its research center to Canada from the United States, Ren Zhengfei, the founder of the Chinese telecoms equipment maker, Globe and Mail reported.
Reuters reported on Friday that the United States is weighing expanding its power to stop more foreign shipments of products with U.S. technology to Huawei. The U.S. Commerce Department in May placed Huawei on a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns.
Huawei’s “centre for research and development will be moved out of the United States. And that will be relocated to Canada,” Ren told the Globe and Mail, adding that the company will also manufacture some mobile network equipment outside China.
Huawei aims to build new factory capacity in Europe to make 5G networking equipment there, hoping to assuage fears stemming from U.S. allegations that its product could be used by China for spying.
Huawei spent $510 million on the operations of its U.S. research arm last year, according to the Globe and Mail report, which added that it has now trimmed the arm’s work force by 600 to about 250.
