Infiltrate, Purloin, Recruit : Blueprint for Success

Ren Zhengfei, Huawei Founder

"We must turn the graduate schools of North America into a recruitment centre, looking at graduate theses, going out to find talent and drinking coffee."

"This is not just the heads of institutes but all levels of experts, attracting scientists, professionals, current students -- go have coffee with them, and while connecting develop a resonance." 

"We must hire some 'high noses' with 'foreign firepower' and within three to five years move steadily from the previous 'Eighth Route Army' towards globalization."

Ren Zhengfei, founder, Huawei Communications, China

"Canada is known around the world for its skilled, educated and diverse workforce. That's why we recruit here."

"Other companies may have cut back on hiring during the pandemic, but not us."

"We now have more than 1,500 employees in Canada, the highest in our 13-year history here."

Alykhan Velshi, Huawei spokesman in Canada

Huawei's idea of recruiting in Canada is partly a response to the U.S. issuing fewer student visas to Chinese citizens. Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images

"Canada is very much out of sync with our allies and I think China can use that as a wedge to try to weaken the western alliance and improve their own  position in Canada and internationally. It's a big worry."

"The U.S. administration of both Trump and Biden have said that if Canada does allow the Huawei 5G technology into [Canadian] telecommunications, this will imperil the ability of the U.S. to share intelligence in the Five Eyes [intelligence group; Canada, U.S., New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom], through which Canada is a net consumer of intelligence. This is very troubling. The idea that Canada might be seen as an unreliable partner for security related issues is distressing."

"The Chinese government treating Ms.Meng not simply as the chief financial officer of a large corporation but really as a key element in the regime, really underlines how integrated Huawei is into the Chinese communist Party regime."

"The fact that they so explicitly linked the two Michaels to Ms. Meng -- without even trying to hide that -- is really indicative of how integrated Huawei is in the Chinese military and security apparatus."

Charles Burton, senior fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, former counsellor, Canadian Embassy, Beijing

Huawei['s founder, Ren Zhengfei, saw fit to lecture his company's executive level employees on the merits of considering North American high-tech graduates as useful recruits to China's premier global telecommunications giant in its rush to storm the international communications market. By persuading North American graduates of the benefits of joining a world giant in communications the damage wrought by the U.S. in diminishing the number of student visas to Chinese students could be ameliorated.

Predicting an ongoing steady decrease in the number of talented Chinese returning from graduating at U.S. universities to China he emphasizes that Huawei is approaching a "critical moment for its survival and development". Odd, how history repeats itself. Chinese communications technology graduate students joined the workforce at Canada's premier, hugely successful Nortel Telecommunications giant with successful international connections. Many of those same students who had integrated into the Nortel workforce are now senior managers at Huawei.

 

Canada's Nortel was destroyed when its classified and secret strategies, technical advances and global connections were somehow infiltrated and the company was destroyed while its trade secrets and client base along with former communications engineers ended up working for a new Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei. Once again Huawei is engaged in what the Chinese seem to do best; seek out the visionary talent of various nations and their workers.

 

Of course Huawei is not alone in the international world of corporate interests, all of whom recruit worldwide. China's history of hiring scientific and technologically-inclined minds is exemplified by Huawei's presence in Canada where it established a large R&D operation. Jonathan Calof, University of Ottawa business professor, added that Huawei Wireless's chief technology officer Wen Tong, had been head of Nortel's network technology laboratories.

 

China's propensity and success in siphoning scientific expertise and knowledge away from the West is well established. A private company that is strategically vital to the Chinese Communist Party; as the CCP expands internationally, so too does Huawei. 

 

Visitors look at descriptions of Huawei products during an expo in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]