I have been in the investment industry for decades, advising large corporations and individuals. What I find fascinating is the way large companies are created. In the West, particularly the States, start-ups are often catapulted into a larger form through policy incentives and the connections the founder brings. In East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan), the government is often an integral part of its early stage development as well as their later stage growth often relying on the founder's character which happens to align or appease the government's goals. Yes, I understand our stance against this behemoth knowing the circumstances of its tremendous success. However, it should be known that basically all East Asian companies are like this one, including the likes of Samsung, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, TSMC, Toyota - they were all grown with lots of government help. Just let that sink in before we choose to target one or more in these turbulent times. Read more

Great book. Lots of insights. Read more

page 260: name of the Architect for their unusual campus in Dongguan by Japan's Nikken Sekkei Architects, to look like 12 miniature European cities, including Germany's Heidelberg Castle. Page 320 onwards: the explanation of what happened to Canada's Kovrig and Spavor in Beijing, and from page 315 -- the lifestyle, properties, Meng Wangzhou and her relatives own in Vancouver. How many passports this 'Meng Wangzhou' hold under her name, and her so-called other half-sister Annabel Yao, who attended Harvard Ballet Company + Harvard Computer Science. Page 266 Huawei worked with Oxford, Stanford, UC Berkeley, the European Commission, and France. Page 343 Michael Spavor seeking millions in compensation from the CDN Gov't. Page 378 Australia bans Huawei. Page 382 UK will remove all Huawei equipment by 2027. --Page 170: Canadian Nortel was being targeted, and page 268, in -- year 2009, Nortel financial changes. Boston-based Bain Capital links to Mass. Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy, and the Kennedy family's connection in Germany? Page 158. In the year 2005. Huawei inked deals in Jordan, Argentina, Thailand, Nigeria, the Philippines, to Germany. Page 330, from Nazi Germany to Xinjiang's forced labor, to the UK Tech Committee Chair named 'Norman Lamb'. Page 349. Germany in 2024 said in 5 years will not use Huawei equipment. -- Finally, this mysterious -- 'founder Ren Zhengfei' -- needs to be read between the lines and use Google Translate for the many double-speak in this book. There is, at the back, pages 359-364, 'Acknowledgments', Timeline of Events, Additional Reading, and Index. Read more

Still with a US anti China bias, it does cover the early history of Huawei quite well and recognises the business models and innovation that has made Huawei so successful. Regrettably too few US writers rely on Chinese observers based in the US. It appears very few Huawei staff or foreign executives were interviewed for a broader western view on the company. It requotes media and US pro think tank claims of the 2008 - 2020 era that did not have proof. It accepts many of these at face value. Read more

The ending very confusing as the last line: … challenge and poetry. What is exactly the author trying to tell? Read more

This is a story about an individual Ren Zhengfei and his dream of building a world class telecommunications industry. He started his company when China was just beginning to open up to capitalism and there were not many rules to constrain growth if one was resourceful and filled with ambition. He hired a couple of top engineers to help develop the technology, likely appropriated technology from western telecom firms and pushed his staff relentlessly. He grew up during difficult times under Mao, consequently, he realized he had to be politically astute to survive. As Huawei became more successful the Chinese government added support providing substantial funding. As the company developed it began to work throughout the world. Often working in countries that were sanctioned by the US Government. Huawei is now the largest telecommunications company in the world. Check out their campus where they have built replicates of European buildings. Impressive achievement by Ren Zhengfei and his company. Read more

The author has mainly taken publicly available data and tried to weave a book about the company. It doesn’t cover much what is already available in public domain. No interviews from current or ex employees in China or any other investigative journalism makes it very average Read more

Amazing story by the Huawei family. Good edition. Read more

Fascinating background to the company, its founder and the relationship with the Chinese Government- worrying Read more