Huawei's CEO said he would 'be the first to protest' if China banned Apple
- In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said he would "be the first to protest" if China imposed a retaliatory ban on Apple.
- Analysts say the US ban on Huawei products could backfire on Apple and some Chinese citizens are already calling for a boycott of Apple on social media.
- This isn't the first time Ren has come out in support of Apple; he previously admitted to buying iPhones.
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Apple has found an unlikely friend in Huawei's CEO.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said he would "be the first to protest" if China imposed a retaliatory ban on Apple.
"That will not happen, first of all. And second of all, if that happens, I'll be the first to protest," he said.
Over the past month, analysts have speculated as to whether the US ban on Huawei products could backfire on Apple. Specifically, China could put a ban on selling US products such as the iPhone. Some Chinese citizens are already calling for a boycott of the company on social media.
But Ren doesn't condone this. "Apple is the world's leading company. If there was no Apple, there would be no mobile internet. If there was no Apple to help show us the world, we would not see the beauty of this world."
He described Apple as his teacher. "As a student, why should I oppose my teacher? I would never do that," he said.
This isn't the first time Ren has come out in support of Apple. He recently told Chinese state TV that he is a fan of the company and buys their products when he goes abroad.
"iPhone has a good ecosystem and when my family are abroad, I still buy them iPhones, so one can't narrowly think love for Huawei should mean loving Huawei phones," Ren said, according to The South China Morning Post.