Huawei denies Chinese government subsidies

Huawei Technologies has denied claims made in the Wall Street Journal that over the years it has received as much as $75 billion in state support. 

The claims, published on Christmas Day, continue to underline the acrimonious relationship between Huawei and the US, with the company recently complaining that it was subject to cyberattacks and staff harassment by US authorities.

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Tax breaks

The article, written by WSJ journalist Chuin-Wei Yap, claims that $46 billion in loans and credit as well as other direct state aid, was supplemented by tax breaks amounting to $25 billion. On top of these, land discounts of $2 billion were reported, along with $1.6 billion in other grants.

According to a response published by ZDnet, Hauwei claims that any tax breaks and grants relate to $73 billion of research and development by the company. Additionally, it stated that it has not received preferential treatment by the Chinese government, and that Western companies establishing themselves in China have also received similar grants and tax breaks.

However, the US government is likely to take a dim view of the situation, especially due to its opposition to state aid coupled with its currently acrimonious dealings with Chinese manufacturers, with crippling tariffs on iPhones and other Chinese-made electronics averted at the last minute before Christmas.

Additionally, while Huawei has previously been declared a security risk by US intelligence due to perceived close connections between it and the Chinese government, similar accusations have previously been made against tech giants such as Google, which was known to have employed workers from US national security agencies.

Via ZDnet

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